Paladins in Pain
by Eosophobia-3
Summary: Some one-shots and short stories of our favourite team being injured/ill because I'm a sick and twisted individual! Mainly fluff with family/friends stuff but some nods to ships if you want to read it that way!
1. Slippery Situation

((Hi everyone! This will be a collection of short stories/ one-shots about our favourite Paladins being injured/ill. Why? Because I enjoy writing pain, probably haha! Anyway, enjoy!))

 **Chapter One: Slippery Situation**

Katie - or 'Pidge' as she preferred to be known - stepped into the shower room wrapped in her pale green towel. Since 'coming out' to the rest of the team (well, just Lance really, everyone else had already guessed she was a girl) the other paladins had scheduled their bathing times so that they didn't clash with her own. Nothing had been said aloud, of course, the boys had just been considerate enough to let her have even just this small portion of the day to herself. And she wasn't complaining; the shower area consisted of a long, narrow space with circular spouts on the walls, ceiling and floor that soaked the user thoroughly enough to clean even the smallest crevice. What the room lacked, however, was any form of privacy. There were no separate compartments or curtains to draw, which wasn't a problem for the four male paladins but became somewhat of an issue when all five needed to clean up. Hence the schedule change.

Dropping her towel in the doorway, Pidge took off her glasses and folded them neatly next to it where they wouldn't get wet and stepped into the centre of the room. Warm, steaming water automatically sprayed out of the spouts and sprinklers, immediately soothing her aching joints and muscles. Piloting a giant metal cat wasn't exactly the most _comfortable_ job in the world and it didn't help that her short limbs had to stretch to their capacity when performing certain manoeuvres. She sighed contently and closed her eyes, letting the warmth and steam surround and calm her. A panel opened up to her left and she took the bar of blue soap it provided, thankful that it didn't smell like some of the other Altaen toiletries. Why anyone would want to have the distinct aroma of a _beetle_ was beyond her.

Almost ten minutes had passed when Pidge's shower was interrupted by a pulsing blue light and screeching alarm. The sudden onslaught of sound startled her and she dropped the soap bar clumsily, watching as it slid out of sight into the steam. Before she could retrieve it, however, a holographic screen shimmered into view in front of her and she gasped aloud, automatically covering her chest with her thin arms. On the screen was Shiro, well Shiro's _back._ He knew his female team-mate was currently in the shower and didn't want to accidentally see everything she had, even if it was only through a screen.

"Um, Pidge?" the black paladin cleared his throat awkwardly and Pidge watched as his shoulders twitched, "You there? I can't tell..."

"I'm here," she dropped her arms so that they were folded at her hips, "What's up?"

"We're about to do some battle simulations in the training room, thought you'd like to join." Shiro scratched the back of his head with his Galra arm, obviously uncomfortable talking to Pidge knowing she was naked.

"Be right there!"

With a swipe of her hand, the hologram dissipated and Pidge blindly made her way back to where her towel and glasses were. Unfortunately, the green paladin had forgotten all about the soap, only recalling it when her foot connected with it and she skidded like a drunken ice skater across the room. She impacted fast and hard and felt the breath whoosh out of her chest as her right side made contact with the wall, her wrist taking the brunt of the collision. Sensation shot through her hand and up her arm to her elbow like a lightning bolt of pain and she cursed loudly, annoyed at herself for forgetting about the damn soap. Always one to look on the bright side of things, Pidge sighed and whispered to herself,

"At least no one was around to see me fall on my butt."

It took a little longer than usual for Pidge to pull on her armour, her wrist had turned a lovely shade of purple and seemed to be swelling a little, she could feel the pressure of it against the underside of her gauntlet, causing her stomach to roll slightly. Hoping stupidly that ignoring the problem would make it go away, she jogged to the training room, hair still damp, and joined her team-mates and friends in the middle of the huge space.

"Okay," Shiro started, "Now that we're all here, let's begin. We're going to practice our one-on-one combat skills, no weapons allowed."

"Oh, come _on_!" Lance moaned, "When are we ever gonna fight without our bayards?!"

"You never know what the battle will bring. We have to be ready for every eventuality." Shiro was in full leader-mode and continued in his gentle yet authoritative tone, "What if you get captured by Galra and have to fight your way out without a weapon? What if someone stole your bayard or – more likely than not _Lance_ – you _lost_ it?"

"Ugh, _fine_!" Lance couldn't argue with the logic.

"And what about you?" Keith was pointing at Shiro's Galra arm, "Don't you have an advantage?"

"I won't be using it, don't worry."

"Hey," Lance was bouncing up and down on the spot, a wide grin on his face, "Maybe we should dis _arm_ him! Get it? _Get it?!_ "

A unanimous groan from the other paladins was his answer, along with a couple of eye-rolls for good measure. Pidge would have usually retorted with something witty or clever but her busy mind was too preoccupied with the throbbing ache in her arm. She'd thought that perhaps she'd just strained her wrist but the pain wasn't ebbing and it hurt to even make a fist. _Broken._ One of the things she hated most about telling the others her true gender was the fact that she was scared they would see her as weaker, less likely to fight or be a valued member of the team. Of course, she knew these thoughts were just paranoid ideas and that the boys would never be so sexist (well, maybe Lance now and then) but she couldn't quite shake them at times like this. She needed to be stronger, faster and smarter than her opponents and something so insignificant as what was between her legs wasn't going to stop her.

"Alright, Lance and Hunk, you two are up first."

Pidge turned her attention back to the room and watched as the two best friends squared up to one another. Hunk had a few inches on Lance's lanky frame but Lance was fast and sneaky, like a really talkative weasel. Shiro placed a small red beanbag in the middle of them and proceeded to explain that the first one to hand it back to him was the winner.

"Easy," Lance smirked, one eyebrow cocked, "Ready, big guy?"

Hunk nodded and cracked his knuckles, "Bring it on!"

"Okay," Shiro inhaled slowly, "Go!"

Lance was first to get his sticky mitts on the beanbag; he skidded across the floor and grabbed it with one hand before scrambling on all fours towards Shiro. Unfortunately, Hunk was faster than he appeared and dive-bombed the blue paladin, squashing him to the ground. Muffled complaints issued from Lance's squished face but he was managing to keep hold of the beanbag, despite his obvious distress and possible internal bleeding.

Hunk pressed harder, pinning Lance even flatter to the floor, yet somehow the smaller boy managed to slither out from beneath him and get to his feet. Confidently, Lance strode towards Shiro, who was only a few feet away now, and held out the beanbag, ready to hand it over triumphantly. That was when Hunk tackled him at the knees, knocking them both back to the ground. More scuffling ensued and finally Hunk got his paws on the beanbag. Without hesitating, he tossed it over to Shiro, who caught it nimbly.

"Hey!" Lance huffed, "That's cheating! You can't throw it, right?!"

Shiro shrugged, "I just said whoever got it back to me was the winner, I didn't say _how_ it had to get back to me. Hunk wins."

After Hunk's victory dance, it was Hunk vs. Keith. That match only lasted a minute or so as Keith flipped Hunk over his shoulder after being almost crushed in a massive bear hug by the yellow paladin. The beanbag was handed from Keith to Shiro swiftly and then it was Shiro's turn to face the hothead.

Pidge had lost interest after the first round, too occupied with the now almost unbearable pain in her wrist. Her armour felt like it was crushing the swollen flesh underneath and even the slightest movement of her right side sent a stabbing sensation down her arm. It was so overwhelming that she was starting to wobble a little on her feet, nausea teasing at her empty stomach and fog clouding her head. She didn't even realise that the battle between Shiro and Keith was over until Shiro nudged her shoulder, jolting her back to reality.

"You okay, Pidge?" he asked, slight worry in his grey eyes.

Briskly plastering what she hoped was a reasonable smile on her face, Pidge nodded, "Yep. Just a little tired from the shower I guess." The lie fell off her tongue like a lead weight and she winced internally, guilty for lying to her friend.

"This'll be over in ten seconds," Lance grinned and nudged Hunk with his elbow.

"I dunno," Hunk replied, "Pidge is pretty swift."

Keith placed the beanbag between the tallest and shortest paladins and waved his arm, signalling them to begin. All of Pidge's energy seemed to be going towards just remaining upright and everything seemed to be moving in slow motion. Not surprisingly, Shiro already had the beanbag and was heading towards Keith but even in her current state, Pidge Gunderson would not give up without a fight. She swung her leg under Shiro's and knocked him on his back, sending the beanbag skittering across the floor like a hockey puck. Hunk cheered but the sound seemed distant to Pidge, like someone talking through a glass wall. Somehow she was back on her feet, albeit a little wobbly, but Shiro once again had the beanbag. Determined not to be outdone by the boys, yet in more pain than before, Pidge stumbled towards the black paladin and reached for the beanbag in his left hand. That was when Shiro's metal Galra hand clamped down on her wrist, tight enough to squeeze her armour and pinch the swollen joint beneath.

Pidge screamed. Not just a yelp of surprise or shock but an ear-splintering howl of a tortured animal caught in a hunter's snare. The room fell silent. Shiro immediately dropped the beanbag and released his grip on her wrist so fast that Pidge stumbled backwards a little.

"I'm sorry!" Shiro spluttered, "Sometimes I use too much force with this arm, I can't tell! Sorry Pidge!"

Tears pricked Pidge's eyes and she slumped onto the floor in a pile. The others quickly gathered around her and Hunk began to carefully remove the armour on her right hand. She was shivering but sweat dripped down her temples, pain obvious on her puckered face.

"Is it bad?" Shiro asked, nudging his way past Hunk to try and see the damage he thought he'd done, "I'm so sorry, Pidge."

She wanted to tell him it wasn't his fault, wanted him to know it was already broken because of her own clumsy self but it was taking all of her concentration to stay conscious as Hunk gently pulled off the fabric glove covering her hand. Lance hissed through his teeth and Keith's nose scrunched up at the sight of the puffy, purple joint. Pidge's hand was at an odd angle to her arm and the bone at her wrist wasn't visible because of how swollen the flesh around it was. Hunk raised her hand slightly and quickly stopped when Pidge squeaked pathetically, obviously in pain.

"Sorry," Hunk whispered as he placed her hand on his lap, careful not to jar or pull it.

"Why did you grab her so hard?!" Keith had his hand on Pidge's shoulder and was scowling at Shiro, who looked utterly devastated.

"Yeah, Shiro," Lance moved to Pidge's other shoulder, "Don't be so rough! You broke her wrist! She's just a girl you know!"

That was it. Pidge watched as Shiro's jaw worked a couple of times but he had no response. He looked pleadingly at the smallest paladin and was about to say something when she spoke up, pain causing her voice to crack a little.

"It's not Shiro's fault," Pidge saw Keith's mouth open to protest but continued nonetheless, "I broke it myself earlier."

"Why?" Hunk asked as he gently rubbed circles in her hand with his thumb.

"Not on purpose!" she sighed, "I slipped in the shower room and slammed it against the wall."

Shiro visibly relaxed, his shoulders slumped and his head flopped forward. When he looked back up a mixture of relief and confusion marred his scarred face.

"So I didn't do this?"

Pidge shook her head and Shiro sighed loudly.

"Why didn't you say something before we started?"

She shrugged, "I didn't want to seem like the weak link."

"That's stupid," Keith said matter-of-factly, "The weak link is obviously Lance."

" _Hey!_ "

"I'm the only girl on the team and sometimes I just feel… _less_ , you know?" A single tear spilled down Pidge's cheek and Shiro wiped it away with his human hand, a smile now on his face.

"You're _more_ than the rest of us put together. And there are _no_ weak links in this team, you know why?"

She shook her head again.

"Because we're not a _chain_ , we're a _hoop._ A never ending circle with no ends or beginnings. We work as one, a team. Got it?" Shiro smiled wider now and it was too infectious not to return it.

"Got it," Pidge sniffed and smiled. It soon faded, however, when she was helped to her feet and ushered towards the healing pods.

"Coran will have you fixed up in no time," Hunk said as he gave Pidge a piggyback along the corridor.

All five paladins walked down the palace hallway with a little more spring in their step. The training exercise hadn't gone as planned but it had certainly gone well and Shiro was pleased everything was now out in the open. He was also extremely overjoyed that he hadn't been the one to break Pidge's wrist but would keep that to himself, ever the sensible leader.

"You know," Lance said as he sauntered along the corridor beside Keith, "Shiro's little hoop speech made me remember something."

"Yeah?" Keith asked, only half listening.

"Do you remember that song from that film?"

Keith sighed, "Well that narrows it down."

"It went something like..." Lance took a deep breath and bellowed, "IT'S THE CIRCLE OF LIIIIIIFE!"

That earned him a smack on the back of the head from Shiro's Galra arm.


	2. Uninvited Guest

**Chapter Two: Uninvited Guest**

It wasn't every day that the paladins of Voltron got to have some time to themselves and it certainly wasn't the norm for them to take a break. However, all had been quiet for almost a month now and Shiro decided it wouldn't be such a bad idea to let the youngsters have some downtime. They had been circling an uninhabited planet for a few hours and, according to Coran, it was rich in some sort of diamond deposits that could be used as fuel and food. Why someone would want to eat something that could be used to power a rocket ship was beyond Shiro but he smiled and nodded as the Altaen gestured wildly, grinning ear to ear.

"So why don't we stop by and grab some?" Shiro suggested.

"Are you sure we can afford to take such a leisurely trip?" Allura asked, big blue eyes sparkling in the hopes that they could indeed visit the beautiful planet's surface.

Shiro shrugged, "Why not. We'll be able to scan for any nearby lifeforms and be back in the lions in minutes if needs be."

Coran clapped his hands and tweaked his moustache as he set the palace to land, "Perfect! I'll fill the storage units to the brim!"

As the palace landed with a muted _thump_ onto the orange grass of the planet, the other four paladins emerged from their rooms. All had been enjoying their own space for a change but the motion of the palace landing had roused their interest enough to bring them to the bridge.

"What's going on?" Pidge asked as she rubbed at her spectacles.

"We're going on a jaunt!" Coran chimed, "Well, I'll be collecting _vital_ ingredients but I suspect you lot will be enjoying the warm pools of Fons or perhaps the relaxing hills of Altum."

Keith cocked an eyebrow at Shiro and the black paladin smiled, "We're due some downtime and this place is uninhabited. Seemed like a good idea."

Lance slapped his hand against Shiro's back, making the taller man jolt a little, "It's a _great_ idea! Now lets go get our relaxation on!"

* * *

The surface of the planet was mostly various shades of orange; orange grass, orange trees, even orange water. The pools of Fons looked like they were made up of some sort of soft drink and it took a lot of will power for Lance not to open his mouth and scoop up some of it just to see if it tasted like oranges. According to Allura, it certainly did not.

Hunk had heard the mention of 'ingredients' and followed Coran into the jungle to collect some of the edible crystals while the others gathered around one of the orange pools. A small waterfall trickled into the orange liquid, causing ripples to flow over the surface and every now and then a tiny silver fish shimmered to the surface before returning to the depths with a faint blue glow. It was certainly peaceful. And the water was warm. Not unpleasantly hot or stifling but just warm enough to ease Shiro's aching muscles as he dangled his legs into it. How long had it been since they'd all just relaxed like this? He didn't remember. It was definitely _too_ long and he made a mental note to try and find time to relax at least once a month. Not only would the paladins thank him for the rest but they'd benefit from the break from fighting Galra or piloting the lions. An overworked, overtired paladin was no good to anyone.

"This is pleasant," Allura said as she settled beside Shiro and eased her feet into the orange water.

Shiro nodded silently and closed his eyes, tilting his head back to let the warm suns heat his face. He was starting to nod off when a sudden _whoosh_ of water drenched him. His eyes sprung open and he looked around dazedly before spotting Lance's mischievous face peering up from the middle of the pool. He looked like a floating coconut and he smiled and ducked underneath the surface when Shiro lobbed a rock in his direction.

"Lance you moron!" Keith had taken off his shirt and was wringing it dry by the side of the pool, orange water puddling at his feet.

"' _Lance you moron'"_ , Lance mimicked.

"That's it!"

Keith dived into the water, splashing the others as he landed with limbs flailing into the liquid like a dog. Lance's smile disappeared and he dived under the water swiftly as the red paladin bombed after him. Pidge could just make out their forms beneath the surface as they scrambled to hold one another under and then suddenly Lance burst through, mouth gasping for breath. He pounded the water with his fist triumphantly.

"Ha! Better luck next time, Keith!"

The water was still, save for Lance's legs moving to keep himself afloat. His grin faded a little and he started to look nervous, a bead of sweat dripping down his face.

"Keith? Don't you dare sneak up on me! I swear-"

Pidge was leaning further over the pool, trying to see where Keith had got to but the pool went dark a meter or so down and it was impossible to see anything deeper. She glanced over at Shiro, who was now on his feet.

"Um… Where'd he go?" She asked as Lance too looked towards their leader for some sort of answer.

"Maybe he's just hiding?" Allura suggested as she squinted into the murky depths of the water.

"He's been down too long," Shiro said as he stepped into the water, "Lance, dive back down and see if you can spot him."

"I bet he's just doing it for attention! Stupid attention-seeking Keith," Lance muttered but did as he was told, diving beneath the surface once more.

He'd been gone almost a full minute and Shiro was about to go down to look for him when the brown haired boy emerged once again, this time with an unconscious Keith under his arm. Struggling to keep afloat, Lance doggy-paddled towards the edge of the pool, trying his best to keep Keith's head above water as best he could. He almost slipped back under the water as they reached the grass but Shiro gripped Keith with his Galra arm and lifted him up onto the bank in one easy motion. He rested his ear against Keith's bare chest and frowned.

"He's not breathing."

Pidge slapped a hand to her mouth as the black paladin began compressions on Keith's chest; one-two-three-four-five. One-two-three-four-five.

No response.

One-two-three-four-five.

Nothing.

"I know what to do!" Lance pushed Shiro aside and leaned his face down next to Keith's. He opened his mouth and tilted his head back, ready to give him the kiss of life. Lance's lips were almost on Keith's blue ones when the red paladin's eyes slowly fluttered open and he frowned up at Lance, a mixture of disgust and confusion on his face. Lance's cheeks flushed crimson and he scrambled away from Keith as Shiro helped him to sit up.

"What the hell?" Keith asked, voice scratchy, "Why was Lance trying to kiss me?"

"I was _saving_ you!" Lance folded his arms across his chest, "You're welcome by the way!"

"I think I'd rather die," Keith retorted, deadpan.

Lance was about to answer back but stopped as Keith started to cough and splutter, shoulders heaving as he threw up a little of the orange water. He looked pale and was shivering despite the warm climate.

"What happened?" Shiro asked as he wrapped his jacket around Keith's bare shoulders.

"I'm not sure… I think-"

The red paladin stopped mid-sentence and touched his left side just beneath his ribs tentatively with his right hand. The skin there felt slightly rough and puckered, like an old scar but Keith didn't remember ever being injured there. It ached, too, like he'd been kicked in his side but even during the scuffle with Lance neither of them had landed any blows. He looked up at Shiro, who was hovering awkwardly near, not knowing what to do, and suddenly Keith's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates.

Something moved under his hand.

He waited a few seconds, just in case he'd imagined it but sure enough there was the flutter of movement again. Like something shimmying between his ribs. No, not _shimmying_ , _swimming._ He jumped to his feet, knocking Shiro's jacket into the orange grass and spun around madly like a dog chasing its tail.

"Keith! Keith, what is it?" Shiro, too was on his feet, trying to catch Keith's arm and stop him from falling back into the water.

"He's lost it. Space madness," Lance shrugged.

"What's that?" Pidge pointed to Keith's ribs where a faint blue glow was emanating from beneath his skin. She paled as the glow wiggled and moved into the centre of his torso, "EW! What the heck is _that_?!"

The more aggressive movement of the creature under his skin caused Keith to freeze and he looked down at his abdomen where the glow now resonated. Gingerly, he poked at it and it fluttered slightly to the right. It was no bigger than a french fry but he would _much_ rather have one of those in his stomach than whatever the hell this was.

Shiro turned to Allura, "Any idea what it is?"

"Its a Flubbersnatch," she said plainly.

"Of _course_! A Flubbersnatch!" Lance blanked, "What's a Flubbersnatch?"

"They're a common parasite fish found on most planets. They're usually green, which is why I didn't realise before. If I'd known there were Flubbersnatch in this pool I wouldn't have let you swim!"

"Are they dangerous?" Shiro asked, eyes glued to the glowing spot on Keith's stomach.

"Not particularly," Allura leaned closer to Keith's bare torso and he looked away, a blush forming on his cheeks, "Some species live with them symbiotically for their entire lives."

"Well, at least you've finally made a friend!" Lance giggled and Keith shot him a death glare.

"How do I get it _out_?" Keith growled.

Allura tilted her head and scratched her chin quizzically, "I've heard they don't like mechanical light but I've never tried to remove one so I can't say how effective that method is."

"So let's get Keith back to the ship and shine some torches on him," Shiro started to march back towards the castle-ship, a new objective keeping him busy.

"There's not enough time for that," Allura spoke quietly, "I'm afraid once the Flubbersnatch has been in a host for more than five of your Earth minutes it cannot be removed."

"And how long has it been in me?!" Keith's voice cracked on the last syllable, fear now creeping into his mind.

"I'd say you have about 1 minute left."

"Quiznak."

Without saying a word, Shiro shoved Keith to the ground and raised his Galra arm towards him. Keith stared, too stunned to speak, as the metal arm began to glow pink, then white. A kind of cool warmth came off it in waves as Shiro pressed it against Keith's stomach where the Flubbersnatch remained. The fish jittered a little, causing Keith's stomach to churn, but it didn't seem to be working.

"It needs to be brighter," Allura commented.

"Twenty seconds left," Pidge added as she looked at her watch.

Shiro frowned deeply and concentrated all of his energy into his mechanical arm; it glowed brighter still and this time Keith could feel the intense heat radiating from the light. He tried to move back but Lance had appeared behind him, sensing that the red paladin was about to try and scamper away.

"Ten seconds!"

With a groan and a look of sheer determination, Shiro felt more power than ever surge into his right arm and it shone brightly, too bright for any of them to keep their eyes open. An intense burning sensation filled Keith's senses and then as suddenly as it had appeared, the light was gone. As was the fluttering in his stomach.

"I think it worked!" Pidge cheered.

Keith patted himself down, trying to feel for the fish but it was no longer inside him. Instead, a sore, red scorch mark marred his lower torso but it would heal fine in one of the pods when they returned to the ship. He looked at Shiro, who had flopped sideways onto his right side in the grass, sweat beading on his forehead and his breath coming in pants. It had obviously taken a lot of energy to create such an intense light and once again Keith found himself extremely thankful for having such a great leader and friend.

"Thanks, Shiro."

The leader gave him a weak thumbs-up with his human hand and smiled, "No problem. Just don't ask me to do it again any time soon."

A few moments later Hunk and Coran returned from their scavenging in the jungle. Hunk held up a bag of crystals and Coran proudly dropped a string of dead fish at the group's feet. He smiled broadly and tugged on his moustache.

"Flubbersnatch. Delicious to eat but don't go swimming with the little buggers!"

An audible groan echoed from the others as they made their way back to the palace. So much for a relaxing break.


	3. A Stroke of Bad Luck

((Thanks so much to everyone who's reviewed/favourited so far! It makes me so happy knowing people actually read my work ))

 **Chapter Three: A Stroke of Bad Luck**

It was a pretty quiet day on the Altean ship; Coran was making some adjustments to the wormhole technology whilst Allura supervised just in case. Hunk was busy concocting something edible from the Altean food supplies as Lance and Pidge watched and nibbled on scraps like two naughty puppies. Keith was in his room reading and Shiro was on the main bridge, watching the stars from the main viewing area. The castle-ship wasn't moving as such but the feeling of drifting slowly was a constant, it never felt completely _still_.

The black paladin stretched his arms up over his head, his metal Galra arm had been aching for an hour or so and he guessed it was probably time for a little light training with it. It became stiff and a little clumsy if he didn't use it in a couple of days. As he turned to head towards the training deck, something in the vast expanse of space outside the castle caught Shiro's eye. What looked like a large grey cloud was slowly approaching the ship from the north. It shimmered and loomed ever closer like a small asteroid field maybe the size of a couple of football pitches. Except there were no asteroids enveloped in the gaseous cloud, only dark grey shards of something that sparkled now and then like pieces of metal. That's when Shiro realised that was exactly what it was. Somehow this huge cloud was filled with pieces of metal, shimmering in the lights of the castle.

A small beeping alerted the passengers that something was approaching and it only took a minute or so for the rest of them to join Shiro on the bridge.

"What is it?" Allura asked as she stepped beside the tall Earthling.

"It appears to be some sort of electrical storm," Coran interjected as his nimble fingers tapped away on the console in front of him, "It's approaching fast. Fascinating."

Pidge joined the Altean at the main console, on her tiptoes to see the screen more clearly.

"Looks like it's electromagnetic in origin," she turned to Allura, "It won't effect the ship right?"

Allura shook her head, "Not at all. There are precautions in place for such a thing. I think..."

Shiro couldn't help but hear the princess' last words and scratched at the spot where his Galra arm attached to his skin absently. Something about the weird storm that was approaching was making him nervous and he could have sworn that the metal in his right arm was tingling slightly.

"Ah," Coran ran his hand over his moustache as he did whenever there was a problem with no immediate solution.

"'Ah' what?" Keith asked from his seat.

"The electromagnetic force of this storm is a class A."

"And?" Lance this time.

" _And_ the ship is only built to withstand storms of class B and below," Coran finished.

"So what'll happen when it hits?" Hunk asked, concern clear in his elevated voice.

Coran shrugged, "Nothing too serious. The cryo-pods will probably shut down to conserve power but that's about it. We might just get stuck in the storm for a day or two but it'll pass soon enough."

Through the large windows, the paladins could see the storm closer now. There was a thick grey mist-like substance swirling in circles and as it moved the metal inside it could be glimpsed now and then. It sparkled and shone as the bright lights of the Altean ship caught the smooth surfaces and Pidge noticed that it also produced some of its own electricity. What looked like white and blue lightning pierced the space around and amongst the cloud and a couple of forks even struck the ship, although not enough to do any damage. The passengers watched helplessly as the storm began to surround the ship, blocking the windows and therefore the stars that Shiro had been viewing. It was like they were being swallowed up by it.

"Do you have a question, Shiro?" Allura's voice startled the black paladin and he turned to look at her quizzically.

"Um… No?"

Shiro looked at the others with a half-smile as if to silently question Allura's sanity but to his confusion they looked just as bewildered as he did. Their raised eyebrows were not aimed at the Altean, however, but at their fearless leader.

"What?" Shiro asked, feeling his cheeks heat up from the ongoing stares.

Pidge was suddenly at his right side, pressing down on his Galra arm as though to push it into his side. He watched her, puzzled at first but then more concerned when she let go of his arm and it sprung back into the air, like he was raising it to wave or – as Allura had guessed – ask a question.

A bark of laughter escaped Lance's lips, "You're like an action figure!" he looked at Pidge, "Do it again!"

She repeated the process of pressing the arm down to his side and let go, once again watching as it sprung back up with enough force to whip her hair around her face. Lance doubled over laughing and Keith whacked him over the back of his head, a habit he'd picked up from Shiro, as he stepped over to his friend.

"Why is it doing that?"

Shiro pulled the arm down with his human hand and held it across his stomach. He could feel it trying to spring back up beneath his grip.

"I don't know. Maybe it has something to do with this storm?"

"Most likely," Allura agreed, "It should go back to normal when the storm passes."

"It'll never go back to _normal,_ " Shiro bit his tongue, annoyed at his own words. He hadn't meant to speak them aloud, internally scolding himself for letting his true feelings slip out.

His friends pretended they hadn't heard as Pidge formed a makeshift sling to hold Shiro's arm to his chest. It would be far easier having it in that position for the duration of the storm, rather than pointing to the ceiling constantly.

"Hey," Lance spoke as he inspected whatever he'd just plucked from his ear, "Even if it doesn't go back to how it was, you could get a job directing traffic."

"Or landing planes!" Hunk added cheerfully.

"Guys!" Keith glowered at them, "You're not helping!"

"Or a really unique hat stand," Pidge concluded, gaining a giggle even from Keith.

"Wow, thanks for your concern." But Shiro smiled nonetheless.

* * *

Around lunchtime the paladins gathered in the dining area, along with Princess Allura. Coran was busy working on some electrical things that had shorted due to the surrounding storm and said he'd grab something to eat later. It was impossible to drag him away from something once he'd started it and so Hunk made him a kind of lunch box of goodies for when he'd finished. The rest sat at the long white table as the resident chef handed out plates piled with various shades of green space goo. As the months had passed it had certainly become more tolerable but what Lance wouldn't give for one of his mother's homemade dishes. Nevertheless they all dug in and there were empty plates all round after only a short while. Well, all except Shiro's.

The black paladin's Galra arm had started to ache dully about an hour after the storm had first arrived and now, another two hours later, it was throbbing painfully. The metal felt heavier and although the sensation of it tugging towards the ceiling had abated a little, another more intense feeling had taken over. Where his human arm ended and the mechanical arm began the scarred, mutilated flesh felt as though it was burning. It wasn't uncommon for it to ache a little, after all he was tugging around a heavy metal contraption all day every day, but it never hurt _this_ badly. Shiro rolled his right shoulder and winced as the Galra metal seemed to pull and scratch against whatever was left of his right arm.

Of course Keith noticed the grimace that formed briefly on Shiro's face and his voice brought everyone's attention to it as he spoke across the table to his friend.

"Shiro? You okay?"

' _Shut up, Keith'_ was what he wanted to reply with but Shiro instead forced a smile and nodded a little too enthusiastically.

"Peachy."

"Wow, you're a terrible liar, bossman," Lance scraped the last of his food goo off of his plate and pointed his fork in Shiro's direction, "Worse than Hunk, and he's _terrible_."

"I am _not_ terrible!" Hunk protested as Lance shoved the goo into his mouth.

"Oh yeah?" Lance garbled through the goo, "Name _one_ time you've lied successfully!"

A wry smile spread across the yellow paladin's face, "I convinced you that was edible didn't I?"

Lance stopped chewing suddenly, his cheek chipmunking the green goo. His dark eyes glanced at the others briefly and his eyebrows rose.

"It's not?!" he mumbled, aghast.

A burst of laughter erupted from Hunk and he clutched his sides as tears pooled in his eyes; seeing Lance's total horror was more than he could have asked for, _plus_ it proved his point. Lance swallowed the goo and poked Hunk with his elbow, a proud grin on his face. Meanwhile, Keith's attention hadn't strayed from Shiro's pained expression, which only seemed to have intensified as the others had been fooling around. The black paladin had resorted to clutching his arm in its makeshift sling and was currently trying to squeeze the area where the Galra metal met his own flesh in an attempt to soothe the grinding sensation. It wasn't helping.

"Does it hurt?" Allura asked, compassion in her blue eyes.

Shiro shook his head, determined not to look weak or stupid in front of his team, "Nope. Just a bit uncomfortable."

Allura nodded, unconvinced.

Beside Shiro, on his right side, Pidge pushed her empty plate aside and 'accidentally' bumped her bony elbow into Shiro's Galra arm. She hadn't done it with much force but it was enough to elicit a yelp from the man as he almost fell off his chair into Lance's lap. Eyebrows rose and the green paladin adjusted her glasses as she leaned closer to Shiro, who was now sweating a little, the burning pain in his arm increasing every second.

"The electrical storm could be effecting the Galra tech. I'll have to do a few tests to find out though," Pidge's small hands hovered near Shiro's arm but she didn't touch it, aware that it was obviously painful, no matter what their fearless leader may want them to think.

At the mention of 'tests', Shiro had frozen. A lump of ice seemed to have encased his chest and he could feel his blood rushing through his veins faster than it should have been. Memories of the druids hovering over him, tugging and cutting away at his flesh burned his eyes and his breath became rapid until the entire room was spinning uncontrollably. It was only when Keith reached across the table and placed his hand on Shiro's left one that the motion stopped and he was able to focus again. Nothing was said between the two but the human contact was enough to ground Shiro once more, the pair's silent bond something that even Galra tech couldn't break.

Gingerly, so as not to rouse any more terrible memories, Pidge said in a gentle voice, "It won't take long and I'll make sure there's nothing invasive. Just some scans and stuff." She smiled warmly and Shiro brought his human hand over to ruffle her hair.

"Sure, Pidge, thanks."

The walk from the dining room to the laboratory seemed to take longer than usual; Pidge was busy pressing things on a tablet Coran had given to her and Shiro followed obediently, staring ahead but not really seeing anything. He _did_ however _hear_ something. Not-so-secretly the other three limbs of Voltron followed them down the corridor. He supposed they were trying to be sneaky about it but when Lance and Keith were involved in anything together, 'sneaky' went out the window. Shiro really didn't want an audience if he was to have tests taken but he also didn't want to turn them away. On more than one occasion he'd woken from a nightmare or a memory and almost hurt one of them, mistaking them for a Galra druid or a gladiator in the ring. And so in order to protect Pidge from one of his 'moments', Shiro allowed them to follow.

They arrived at the lab faster than he would have liked and Pidge quickly went into 'nurse mode' as she busied herself prepping various machines and instruments around the large silver room. Keith and the others weren't even trying to hide now, instead they stood in the corner of the room looking at different x-rays and screens that showed Altean anatomy. One of the screens held an image of a small boy, around Pidge's age, but he was badly burnt and looked unconscious. A pang of sorrow pierced Shiro's heart as he thought about all the Altean children and families that had been lost to the Galra empire. So much destruction for such an unworthy cause.

"Ready?"

Pidge's voice brought Shiro back to the present and he blinked at her for a moment, confused briefly.

Pidge patted the metal table in the centre of the room, "Lie down here and I'll take a look."

He did as he was told and perched his backside on the cold metal, shivering slightly but not because of the temperature.

"Lie back," Pidge commanded as she grabbed a small hand-held scanner.

"Your bedside manner could use a little work," Shiro complained as he lay back.

He didn't get a reply as Pidge unfastened the sling around his arm. Fortunately, the Galra arm remained at his side as she unwrapped it, no longer on an invisible spring. Whether that was a good sign or not, Shiro didn't know but he was thankful that he was no longer in 'Action Man' mode. He watched as she brought the scanner up to his right side, the little blue light pulsating softly as Pidge swept it slowly above his arm.

"Anything?" Shiro asked as a sliver of lightning snaked outside the large window.

Pidge shook her head, "Looks pretty normal. Well, normal for a Galra arm attached to a human guy. It's pretty interesting to be honest, I'd love to run some more tests, maybe some endurance stuff and-"

" _Pidge_!" Keith snapped, "Focus."

"Oh, right. Sorry," she shook her head as though to clear it and patted Shiro's arm gently, "Nothing's showing up on the scanner, it looks the same as usual."

It certainly didn't _feel_ the same as usual. The scorching pain was getting worse and every time Shiro moved even a finger the metal felt like it was grinding painfully against his skin. He winced visibly as he sat back upright, a bead of sweat trickling down his pale face.

Outside the ship, another streak of blue lightning bleached the sky, momentarily turning the entire room white. The paladins watched as the intensity of the storm increased with each strike until suddenly an enormous _BOOM_ rattled the lab as a bolt hit the main window and somehow snaked inside the room. Helpless, Pidge watched as the zig-zag of white energy bounced from wall to wall, scorching wherever it touched, which seemed to be anything made of metal. Keith shoved Lance out of the way as the lightning whizzed past his head, just missing him by inches, and Hunk ducked as it careened towards him. Pidge continued to watch, mesmorised by the quick and agile way it moved around the room, not like Earth lightning at all. It seemed more intense, more _aware._ The green paladin was so intrigued that she failed to notice a second bolt zooming towards her and was only alerted to its presence when Shiro yelled her name.

"PIDGE! Look out!"

Before she had time to react, her eyes were filled with an intense light as the electricity snaked in front of her face, missing by only an inch or so. Thankfully, Shiro had somehow launched himself at the smallest member of Voltron and pulled her forcefully aside, blocking the lightning with his own body. Oh _no._

"Sh-Shiro?"

Pidge's wide eyes quickly scanned the leader's body for any sign of burns or damage. He seemed to be trembling slightly but looked otherwise unharmed. That was, except for his right arm. The Galra tech was glowing faintly but not its usual pinkish hue, more of a pale blue. Pidge could have sworn it was also humming very quietly but it could have been her imagination. Almost being fried to a crisp messed with the mind a little. Shiro didn't seem to have been injured by the lightning but he wasn't moving as the others gathered around them. He continued to tremble, his legs unstable as Keith guided him back to the table. As the black paladin got up onto it, trying to regain some sort of composure, his metal arm touched the steel of the table and two things happened: a blast of electricity zapped from his fingertips to the top of the Galra arm and singed the scarred skin above it and Shiro let out an almighty yelp of agony.

"Whoa!" Lance jumped back, "What the quiznak!"

Shiro looked almost transparent. Sweat trickled down his sunken cheeks and his eyes were dark and heavy. The trembling had intensified and he was panting, as though he'd just run a marathon. The lightning which had struck him only moments before had swept through his entire body like a wave of death but right now the only thing he could feel was his right arm. It continued to glow blue as he rested it on his lap, palm up and shaking violently. Tears pricked his eyes as the pain concentrated on the scarred flesh where Galra met human; it felt like fire and filled his consciousness to the point where he felt he would somehow overflow with pain and just explode into a charred cloud of ash. With his left hand, Shiro gripped the top of the Galra metal but quickly pulled it back as the heat from it almost burnt his good hand. The pain wasn't abating, in fact he felt it was getting _worse_ with every second.

"The metal of the Galra arm must have conducted the electricity and concentrated it away from Shiro's human parts," Pidge said, mainly to herself as she grabbed the scanner again.

"Lucky," Hunk sighed, "I'm pretty sure it would have fried his heart otherwise."

"Or at least messed up his funky hair," Lance added.

On the table, Shiro continued to tremble and it was only when Pidge reached out her small hand to steady his Galra arm that he reacted. Forcefully, but not so much as to hurt her, Shiro shoved Pidge's hand away from the metal with his left arm and shook his head weakly.

"It's okay, I'm just going to scan it again," Pidge leaned closer once more but was again pushed back.

Gasping for breath, Shiro croaked, "Too… hot… burn..."

Confused, Pidge looked to the others for answers.

Lance shrugged and Keith placed his hand on Shiro's left shoulder.

"What? Pidge just wants to scan your arm again, it won't hurt." He felt self conscious talking to his oldest friend as though he was a child but Shiro didn't seem to be responding to anything other than his soothing tones.

Shiro shook his head, stronger this time, more determined, "No! It'll… _burn_!"

He shifted his right arm awkwardly and Keith suddenly realised what he was trying to convey. His dark eyes widened and a sickly feeling settled in his stomach. Had Shiro been _burning_ this entire time? How was he still conscious? Why wasn't he howling in pain? It was then that the red paladin knew that Shiro had been trying to save the others from seeing his anguish. Even in the thralls of agony, their leader wanted to protect them.

"Don't touch the Galra tech," Keith held onto Pidge's arm to stop her advancing, "It's _hot_."

"Hot?" She blinked.

Keith nodded solemnly and Pidge turned back to look at Shiro. His eyes were glazed as he stared at his hand, frowning deeply. She could not only _see_ his pain but there was a faint odour like pork and Pidge realised it was Shiro's flesh starting to burn. Her stomach rolled but she kept her calm façade.

"Is it burning right now?" Pidge asked quietly.

Slowly, Shiro's eyes rose to meet her own and he nodded.

Unknowingly to the paladins, the Alteans had joined them in the lab after hearing the commotion with the lightning and they stepped forwards now, worry marring their usual calm faces. Coran stood beside Hunk and Lance as Allura placed a gentle hand on Shiro's lap. He was thankful for the contact and tried to concentrate on her soft hand rather than the searing in his arm.

"Coran says that the storm may last at least another day," the princess spoke to Pidge but kept her eyes on Shiro, who shifted uncomfortably at the thought of another twenty-four hours of hell.

"But he's _burning_ ," Keith almost growled the words.

"The cryo-pods aren't online, I don't know what to suggest."

"We can't just leave him like this," Pidge spoke quietly, face turned away from Shiro's, "The metal is literally scorching his skin. In a couple of hours the human part of his right arm will be useless."

"I don't know-"

"...off," Shiro breathed, interrupting Allura.

All eyes turned to the black paladin.

"What?" Keith asked, although he thought he knew what Shiro had said, he just didn't want to _believe_ it.

Shiro sat a little more upright, his face contorted with pain, "Take it… off."

"Take it _off?!_ " Lance yelped.

"No!" Keith grabbed Shiro's arms and all too late remembered his Galra tech. Even through his fingerless gloves Keith could feel the intense heat radiating from it and he quickly pulled his hand back.

"You want us to chop your arm off?!" Lance's voice was high, panicked.

"I think I'm going to throw up," Hunk hiccuped and turned his face away.

"Guys..."

"I don't think we have the facilities, even the cryo-pods..." Allura trailed off, lost in thought.

"Lasers might work," Coran was stroking his moustache, "It'd have to be a clean cut."

"Guys..."

"We can't just lop it off!" Pidge was pacing back and forth, "He needs two arms to do… stuff!"

"Guys!"

Shiro's sudden burst of energy brought everyone's attention to the fading man and he panted harder, even speaking was becoming difficult.

"I don't… want you to chop my arm… off," he gasped and tried to focus his eyes to stop the room spinning, "Just take the Galra… part. Until the... storm passes."

"Oh..." Lance shrugged, "That makes more sense."

Pidge looked at Allura, "Is that possible?"

"I… I _think_ so? Coran?"

"We certainly have the tools but I'm not sure my knowledge of Galra technology goes as far as amputations."

Shiro laughed weakly, "I believe in you, Coran… If anyone can do it… it's you."

* * *

Just twenty minutes later Shiro was lying back on the metal table in the medical chamber whilst Pidge, Allura and Coran milled around him like worker bees. Various lights pulsated and monitors beeped around the black paladin as wires snaked from his arms, neck and chest back to holographic screens and scanners. Usually this type of scenario would have panicked Shiro to the point of utter fear, memories of the druids clouding his vision, but at this moment in time the only thing clouding his mind was the unbearable torture that was his right arm.

The small metal table to his side was wobbling and rattling the instruments that lay atop it and it was only when Allura pressed down on his chest that Shiro realised it was his own body's tremors causing the mini earthquake.

"We're going to start now, Shiro," the princess pressed a small pen-like instrument to his left arm and he felt a tiny prick as the anaesthetic was injected. "You'll remain conscious throughout the procedure but you shouldn't feel… much."

Shiro forced a smile and thanked Allura through a raspy throat as Coran pulled a large metal contraption from the ceiling. It locked onto the Galra arm like a clamp and more, smaller arms started to unscrew and cut away at the connecting seam between flesh and metal. A pulling sensation was added to the burning as the machine continued but then, like a flash of lightning made of cotton wool rather than burning light, the pain suddenly stopped. Shiro sighed, assuming that the arm had been removed and swallowed thickly before slowly turning his head to look at what remained of his human arm.

The Galra arm was still attached.

The machine hadn't even managed to break the seam, it still whirred and buzzed as it worked to remove the alien technology. But the pain was gone. The only thing that remained was the soreness one would feel after a burn, not the actual sensation itself. Shiro's eyes slowly wandered to the large window to his left. He saw a nearby planet surrounded by a pale green haze and stars, so many stars. Hold on. _Stars._ Shiro could see the stars, the planet, the blue glow of the ship's engines. No storm, the cloud had disappeared just as swiftly as it had surrounded them.

"Wait..." his voice was quiet, weak, and neither Pidge nor the Alteans heard him over the grinding gears of the machine working on his arm.

He tried again but to no avail.

Finally, desperately trying to keep himself in one piece, Shiro did the only thing he thought he could to get their attention. He powered up his Galra arm. It took almost thirty seconds, much longer than usual, but it began to glow a faint pink and Shiro could feel it pulsating with power.

"I think something's effecting the tech," Coran said plainly as he pushed another button, "Probably just a reflex reaction of it being tampered with."

Silently, Shiro rolled his eyes and concentrated more energy into the arm. It now shone brightly and felt strong enough to actually move. He did just that, although he didn't have the power to raise the entire arm, a single finger would do. Patiently, he waited until Pidge was standing by his metal hand – the youngster being the only one in the room who would understand the gesture – and stuck up his middle finger. He saw Pidge's eyebrows raise a little and then a shadow of a smirk twitched at her pale lips before her eyes met her leader's, who then looked pointedly towards the window. Pidge's gaze followed Shiro's and she understood him immediately.

"Wait!" Pidge yanked the metal apparatus away from Shiro and placed her small frame between Coran and him, "Look!"

The Alteans saw the lack of storm outside the ship and Allura leaned over Shiro, careful not to touch his still-warm Galra arm.

"Shiro?"

Without realising he'd done so, Shiro had closed his eyes as relief washed over him and when he next opened them Allura was close enough to bring a slight blush to his cheeks. He cleared his throat awkwardly and smiled up at her.

"It's gone," he croaked.

"Yes," Allura nodded, "The storm seems to have dissipated faster than we anticipated."

Shiro shook his head, "Not the storm, the _pain_."

"Wonderful!" Coran patted Shiro's arm, which although no longer burning, still throbbed painfully, "Because I was _so_ worried that I wouldn't be able to reattach this darn thing!"

"Yeah," Pidge added, obvious relief in her voice, "We were trying to think of what else we could replace it with! Hunk suggested a spork."

Allura helped Shiro sit upright and he smiled, "Thank God you didn't take it off!"

"Does it still hurt?" Pidge asked as she automatically touched Shiro's left hand with her own.

He shrugged, "Like a bitc-" he stopped himself mid-sentence and continued with a little more composure, "A little, yeah. But not as much as before."

"You'll be right as snow in no time!" Coran said in his sing-song tones.

"Rain," Pidge corrected him.

Coran looked out of the window, "In space? I don't think so, Number Five. Although we _did_ just have a storm so I suppose anything is possible!"

Shiro and Pidge exchanged smirks as the others burst into the room, happy to be in the presence of a completely healthy leader once again.

((Thanks so much for the reviews so far! If anyone has any ideas or requests for chapters just let me know and I'll give it a go!))


	4. Breathless

((This is just a headcanon I thought up for Lance one night when I should have been sleeping… Enjoy!))

 **Chapter Four: Breathless**

As usual, the blue paladin hadn't heard his alarm go off and was comfortably snoozing as the rest of his team started breakfast. He would have remained in such a state were it not for Hunk slamming his fist against Lance's door twenty minutes later like an angry bear.

"Lance! Training!" Hunk tied his headband a little tighter and sighed, "You missed breakfast _again._ "

Inside the small room, Lance grunted a response to let Hunk know he was indeed alive and slowly sat upright. The eye mask he wore to bed had slipped during the night and one dark eye peered forward dazedly into the bright artificial lights. It was still odd to be roused from sleep by something other than the sun and always took Lance a moment or two to remember he was actually floating through space in a giant castle-ship. You know, just everyday stuff. Slowly, he removed his headphones and shuffled to the en-suite bathroom to tame his hair, which always managed to look like Pidge had snook into his room and used her bayard on him in the middle of the night.

Once he was slightly more presentable and had thoroughly brushed his teeth, Lance pulled on his armour and moved towards the training room. The ship felt a little colder than usual and the chilly air caught in his throat, making him cough as he entered the large space where the others were waiting.

"Come on, Lance," Shiro beckoned him over to where his friends stood in the centre of the room, "Shake a leg."

Still too tired to function, Lance cocked an eyebrow at the taller man and grinned before stepping beside Hunk, who punched his shoulder lightly. Keith rolled his eyes and turned to look at their leader as he spoke to the group.

"More training as a team today," Shiro started, receiving a sarcastic 'yay' from Pidge, which he ignored, "I think some endurance work would be good."

Lance's stomach dropped. Since joining team Voltron, he'd somehow managed to avoid activities that involved endurance. Sure, he'd run _a lot_ but only in short bursts now and then. Most of his action was in Blue or shooting at bad guys from a distance. He hadn't had to travel a long distance on foot or fight for huge periods of time. And that suited him just fine. No way was he going to let the others know _why_ he wasn't in the mood for a long cardio exercise but he wasn't about to risk everything in participating. He raised his hand swiftly as Hunk glanced sideways at him, slight worry in his eyes.

"I'm busy right now so..."

Shiro folded his arms, "Oh, really? Doing what?"

"Things… _Important_ things!" Lance kicked himself internally for such a dumb response.

"Idiot," Keith muttered.

"Ex _cuse_ me?!" Lance spun to face the red paladin, eyes wide.

Keith shrugged, "You're just being lazy. Why don't you take training seriously for once?!"

Lance swung a clumsy fist in his direction but Keith dodged it gracefully.

"Hey!" Shiro snapped, "We're _all_ going to do this, okay?"

Lance's shoulders sagged and he nodded silently. There was no way around it, he would have to join in and just hope nothing bad happened.

"Okay, first, push-ups. Twenty each," Shiro got down onto his stomach and demonstrated easily.

Hunk managed around three and the gave up, panting heavily. Pidge was next; she reached thirteen and then her arms seemed to turn to jelly and she face-planted the floor. Keith and Lance were side by side, moving up and down in unison until they reached the full twenty. They didn't stop at that, however, eyes locked in a silent battle as they continued on to thirty, thirty-five…

Shiro rubbed his Galra hand down his tired face, "Guys, stop." The battle continued on the floor, " _Guys_! Do you want me to find a tape measure?!"

Pidge snorted as the two paladins immediately stopped and got to their feet, sweat beading on their faces. Lance coughed, hacking a little and Keith tried his best to stop himself panting. Neither one wanted to show any sign of weakness in front of the other.

"Alright," Shiro sighed heavily, already regretting the training idea, "Next is target practice," he raised his voice a little and spoke to the room rather than the people in it, "Start training exercise three two four."

Around the room, several disks hovered up from the ground, each with six holes around the edges. They began to spin in unison, slowly at first and then faster until they were more like white blurs floating around the room. Suddenly, as though commanded by some invisible force, the disks started to rapidly fire small blobs of blue paint at the paladins, who quickly took cover.

"The aim is to get to your bayard over there!" he pointed to the end of the room where the four bayards were encased in four separate pillars of light, "Avoid the paint and protect your teammates!" Shiro yelled as he yanked Hunk away from the line of fire, "Three hits and you're out!"

Keith was on his feet and running to the edge of the room before anyone else had even thought of a plan; he rolled as a blob narrowly missed his shoulder and was back on his feet within seconds, eyes focused on his red bayard. Pidge was close behind, although not as agile on her feet, and was quickly hit with two consecutive blasts of paint on her legs. She slipped on it and fell to the ground as Hunk barrelled past her. Lance had opted for run first, think later and sprinted towards his bayard like a monkey on rollerskates. He somehow managed to dodge a few blasts of paint but was hit in the centre of his helmet, obscuring his line of sight. He yelped and tried to rub it off but only managed to smear it more and ended up tripping over Pidge as he got closer to his bayard.

Entertaining as it was, watching the kids trip over one another, Shiro was supposed to be teaching them something and darted across the room quickly. He skidded across the floor, ducking out of the way of the paint and scooping up Lance and Pidge in the process and ended up right next to the bayards, where Keith waited impatiently. Hunk was there too but he had three clear paint blotches on his chest and a solemn look on his face.

"Took you long enough," Keith smirked.

Shiro dropped his paladin-shaped packages and popped off his helmet, "I had some baggage to collect."

He commanded the room to stop the session and held out his hand for Pidge, who was struggling to gain her feet as the paint skidded under her shoes. Lance was already up, coughing again, although this time it sounded a little more rough, like something in his chest was scratching. Hunk put his hand on his friend's back and opened his mouth to speak but Lance shook him off roughly, dismissing his help. The exchange hadn't gone unnoticed by Shiro but he let it slide for the moment, focusing on the next task as the rest of the team removed their helmets.

"Alright, third and final part of endurance is being able to keep going, even when you're drained."

"Ugh," Pidge's arms hung at her sides and she yawned loudly, "Do we have to? My body isn't built for this."

Shiro smiled an evil grin, "That's exactly why we're doing this! Now, fifty laps around the room. Go!"

The green paladin emitted another groan but forced her legs to start jogging, albeit sloppily. Keith led the way, back straight and eyes focused, followed closely by Shiro who seemed to favour his left side, perhaps to balance out his heavier right arm. Hunk and Lance brought up the rear of the jogging team, only a few paces behind Pidge, but Hunk seemed to be slowing his pace to stay next to Lance. He looked at his old friend sheepishly.

"Should you really be doing this?" Hunk whispered as they completed their second circuit of the large room.

"I'm _fine_ , Hunk," Lance forced a smile and gained a little speed, leaving Hunk a few paces back.

Ever the persistent type, Hunk sped up, "But what about-"

"I said I'm fine!" Lance snapped, loud enough to make Shiro turn to look at them, and patted Hunk's shoulder, "I'll be okay, promise." Lance winked and kicked his legs even harder to catch up with Keith at the front.

Almost thirty laps in and Hunk had been bested by the running. He sat at the side of the room with a large bottle of water and watched the others as they continued to jog. Pidge looked like she might topple any moment, eyes heavy and breath coming out in gasps, and Hunk watched as Shiro slowed his pace to jog beside her and say something before ruffling her hair. Moments later, Pidge had joined Hunk on the floor and was downing the rest of the water.

The red and blue paladins had of course turned the training into a competition and somehow their pace had gotten _faster_ the longer they'd been running. Their positions kept changing but they remained neck and neck as they rounded the room for the thirty-second time.

"No way… you're beating… me… Mullet!" Lance gasped, swallowing the phlegm that threatened to make him gag.

"Ha!" Keith barked, "Just try to keep up!"

Their speed increased again and, although on the same amount of laps as the duelling pair, Shiro groaned at their energy.

"Don't overdo it, you two!" he bellowed through pants.

"Like I could-" Lance's coughing cut him off mid-sentence and he stumbled a little before regaining his balance.

Keith glanced at him briefly and was a little taken aback as he took in Lance's appearance; his cheeks puffed out as he gasped for air and his palour looked almost _grey_. He kept coughing and hacking and his breathing sounded more like wheezing as he gasped desperately for air, his chest rising and falling angrily.

"Hey, are you..." Keith slowed a little, shocked at the blue paladin's appearance.

Lance slowed too, his legs seeming to fail him slightly, as his breathing suddenly deteriorated. His mouth opened wide and he gasped loudly, desperately trying to suck in more oxygen. Keith stopped running and Shiro sprinted to Lance's side as he suddenly bent over double, his hands on his knees. He wheezed loudly and gripped his chest tightly against his armour, as though trying to claw at his lungs.

"Lance? What is it? What's wrong?!" Shiro's eyes were huge as he eyed the group, desperately trying to find an answer as to why the youngster couldn't breathe, "Lance, are you hurt?"

A weak shake of the head by the Cuban told Shiro that he was uninjured but that didn't really help. His wheezing breaths sounded painful as Lance gulped in air, finally falling to the floor in a heap, Shiro supporting his back just in time to save him from hitting his head. The black paladin pulled off the armour on Lance's top half and rubbed at his back gently, unable to figure out what the hell he was supposed to do. All of the first aid training at the Garrison had been to stop bleeding or pop a shoulder back in, nothing to do with a person suddenly losing the ability to breathe. He felt useless as he watched Lance struggle weakly in his arms.

"Sit him up straight," Hunk crouched down beside them and pulled Lance into a more upright position.

"Hunk?" Shiro narrowed his eyes at the yellow paladin, "Do you know what's wrong?"

Hunk scratched the back of his head awkwardly, "I promised I wouldn't say anything."

" _Hunk!_ " Keith shouted, making Pidge jump a little, "He can't _breathe_!"

Lance managed to lift his head to look at Hunk and he frowned deeply, gasping between wheezes, "Don't… Hunk..."

"I have to!" Hunk turned away from Lance's pleading eyes and spoke only to Shiro, "He's got asthma."

Lance groaned and leaned more into Shiro's chest as the black paladin supported his weight and Keith knelt beside them, eyes wide. He looked furious.

"But he wouldn't have been able to become a pilot, he-"

Hunk shook his head, "We managed to tweak his physical tests so that they appeared normal."

Now Shiro was the one looking angry, "Do you know how dangerous that was?! What if he'd had an attack whilst flying?! What if-"

"I _know!_ " Hunk shrugged his shoulders, defeated, "But he was so _desperate_ , you know? And he had it under control, with his inhaler and stuff..."

Pidge and Keith exchanged a knowing look and suddenly Pidge was on her feet, heading for the door.

"Where does he keep his inhaler?" She asked over her shoulder.

"Usually in his bag, under his bed!" Hunk replied, guilt still etched on his usually jolly face.

"Wait..." Lance coughed, veins standing out at his temples and his chest heaving in a jerking motion, "It's… I didn't..."

Keith leaned closer to his face and put a soothing hand on his shoulder, "Where is it, Lance?"

The feeling of Keith being _nice_ to him was enough to stop his breathing for a moment and Lance's pale cheeks flushed for a brief second before he finally swallowed enough air to speak.

"I left it in my room… when we found… Blue… On Earth."

Pidge skidded to a halt and turned on her heel, back to where her makeshift family were gathered on the floor. Keith's shoulders slumped and Shiro let his head flop forward, his forehead leaning in Lance's hair. For a few seconds, the only sound was the harsh wheezing breaths of the blue paladin. No one knew what to do, here he was gasping for air like a dying fish and not one of them knew how to help. They looked to Shiro for answers but the older man had nothing to offer other than a calming voice and a pat on the back. He felt useless just sitting there and gestured for Keith to take his place as he got to his feet.

"I'm going to go and see if Allura has anything that will help," Shiro ruffled Lance's hair and spoke quietly, "I'll be back with help soon, kiddo."

"I'll come too," Hunk was already on his feet, his gaze not meeting Lance's for fear of being rejected.

"I'll go see if I can find Coran," Pidge added as she jogged out of the room.

That left the two paladins alone. Red and blue, fire and ice. They struggled to get along at times but when teamwork was needed they knew how to fight alongside one another. Now Lance gasped for air, chest heaving as he leaned back against Keith's as Keith shuffled back to lean against the wall, his back aching from the jogging earlier.

He felt awkward and uneasy as he listened to Lance's lungs struggling to work and he tried to slow his own breathing in the hopes that it would somehow slow Lance's too. Strangely enough, it seemed to do exactly that. Although still wheezing horribly, Lance's breathing seemed to have slowed a little, it sounded less desperate and more of a laborious task than a terrified scramble. Keith felt Lance's shoulders relax a little and automatically placed his hand on his chest, feeling the still too fast rise and fall of it.

"Why're you… being so… nice?" Lance tried to turn his head to look at Keith but a coughing fit forced him forward.

"Don't speak, moron."

Something warm and wet plinked against Keith's arm and he looked down to see it was a tear. He didn't think that Lance even _knew_ he was crying as all of his efforts were concentrated on trying to remain conscious but his friend was obviously terrified. Keith thought about how desperate Lance must have been to be a pilot to forge his physical test results. If he'd been caught it would have been instant dismissal and he never would have achieved his dream. If he admitted it, Keith was impressed by just how far Lance had been willing to go. Maybe there _was_ something behind the goofy grin and innuendos after all.

"'m _scared_ ," Lance mumbled hoarsely.

"I've got you, bud," Keith spoke into Lance's hair, thankful that he couldn't see his face at that moment.

Silently, Keith took a deep, slow breath, forcing his chest outwards purposefully and pressing against Lance's back so that he too was forced to breath deeply. As he breathed out into Lance's dark hair so did Lance. A shaking, rough breath but a slow one nonetheless. Keith repeated the process, inhaling the scent of Lance's shampoo as he breathed in and ruffling the tiny hairs on the blue paladin's neck as he exhaled. Lance breathed in unison and even placed his hand atop Keith's on his chest as it rose and fell.

After what seemed like forever, Lance's breathing slowed to a more manageable rate and the wheezing decreased a little. He continued to cough and his breath hitched in his throat every few minutes but he was able to breathe deeply through his nose and felt less likely to pass out. He closed his eyes, exhausted, and leaned his head back against Keith's shoulder.

"I didn't… die," Lance croaked, eyes closed but a small smile on his face.

"Shame," Keith retorted.

"You love… me really."

"Sure, buddy," Keith sniggered as Lance's breathing continued to normalise until eventually it became slower, more shallow as he fell asleep.

"I'm here! I have this weird root thing and everything is going to be fine!" Shiro stumbled into the room, face red and arms full of what looked like some kind of yellow plant.

"Looks like we're not needed after all," Allura smiled down at the red and blue paladins, asleep in a small, snoring heap.


	5. Shield

((This one was a request by 'JinsTales' I hope it's okay~))

 **Chapter Five: Shield**

"This planet sucks."

"We heard you the first five times, Lance."

"But I mean, it _really_ sucks," the blue paladin slapped at a bug on his neck and yawned loudly, "Why are we here again?"

Shiro sighed, "The Princess wants us to find some special rocks that will help power the castle's shields."

"So why couldn't _she_ come down here and get them?" Hunk asked as he trudged through the long grass beside Pidge, who could _just_ see above the tall blades.

"Hunk!" Pidge rolled her eyes, "She's a _princess_!"

"And a badass!" Hunk added, arms wide, "Have you seen her fight?!"

Pidge nodded in agreement. Allura certainly wasn't your typical sit on a throne all day type princess, she could definitely handle herself. However, the green paladin was just happy to be out doing something, they'd all been locked inside the castle ship for far too long. A change of scenery was nice, even if it was just forests and fields of really tall grass.

"There, what's that?" Keith tipped his head towards a small cluster of caves, his bayard-sword raised.

Quietly, with Shiro and Keith leading the way, followed by Hunk and Pidge and Lance bringing up the rear with his gun, the group moved out of the cover of the grass and into a clearing. A jagged rockface protruded over the ground and in it were three small openings to caves. Lance tried to peer inside but the darkness seemed to seep out of them and he could only see a few feet in.

"Alright," Shiro began, "We'll split up and look for the rocks. Apparently they're red and glow so they shouldn't be too hard to spot. Keith and Lance will take the first one, Pidge and Hunk the middle and I'll go in the third."

"Um..." Hunk raised his hand, "Is it such a good idea to split up? These caves look… creepy."

"Don't be such a girl, Hunk!" Lance grinned as he and Keith headed for what looked like the smallest cave.

Pidge folded her arms and frowned at the Cuban, "Hey! I take offence to that!"

Lance waved as he and Keith disappeared into the darkness of the cave and Hunk watched helplessly as the faint pink glow of Shiro's Galra arm faded as he stepped into the third cave. He turned to look down at Pidge, who looked just as enthusiastic as himself about entering the dark, spooky hole.

"Well, let's go," she muttered, shoulders sagged.

Inside the cave was black. Not just _dark_ but more of a thick, syrupy blackness that felt close, suffocating. Pidge tapped her bayard and it emitted a bright green light that only seemed to reach a few feet ahead of them, illuminating only a small portion of the cave. The walls were damp and seemed to writhe with something living when the light bounced off of them. Hunk shuddered, not only from the coolness but from the feeling of something watching them, waiting in the darkness just beyond the light.

* * *

"Watch your step."

Keith spoke a moment too late as Lance's foot caught on a root and he sprawled forwards, slamming into the red paladin's back.

"I said watch it!" Keith snapped, shaking the gangly lad off his shoulders.

"Hold the light closer!" Lance yanked on Keith's arm to move the light closer to himself, "I can't see anything!"

Keith pulled back his arm a little too aggressively and his hand slammed against the wall, knocking the flashlight to the floor. It skidded in a circle until spluttering dimly and finally the light went out, leaving the two paladins in complete darkness.

"Great, now we can't see at all," Lance stepped forward only to walk directly into Keith.

"Use your bayard," Keith shoved him back as he spoke.

"What if we need it as a weapon?"

"I've got my blade if we need a weapon."

"Psshh," Lance waved his arm dismissively, although Keith couldn't see the gesture, "What if we need a _proper_ weapon?"

"Just use it!"

* * *

The third cave was a little larger than the others and Shiro was a little uneasy as he stepped through it. His footsteps echoed behind him and he kept turning around to make sure no one was following him, his Galra arm the only light he had. Its pink glow made everything look wet and fluid and a few times the black paladin could have sworn he felt something scuttle across his feet. He shook away the thought and continued into the darkness, secretly hoping that he would be the first to come across the red rocks so that he could get out of there as soon as possible.

* * *

"Did you see that?" Hunk asked as he squinted into the darkness, "Something _moved._ "

"Nothing moved, Hunk," Pidge said matter-of-factly, "Do you see any red stones?"

He shook his head and then realised she couldn't see him, "Nope, nothing. Maybe we should go."

He turned to leave but the smaller paladin stood her ground, "We have to be thorough," Pidge looked up at where she thought Hunk's face was, "As the physically weakest team, we have to show that we're good for _something_."

Hunk heard her voice crack a little and pawed at the air until he found her shoulder, "You're good at stuff, Pidge! I don't know anyone who's a better hacker than you!"

She brightened at that and it sounded in her voice, "Yeah?"

Hunk nodded and then remembered the darkness again, "I'm nodding, just so you know."

With more of a spring in her step, Pidge moved forwards until they turned a corner. There, nestled in the wall like tiny blinking fireflies, were hundreds of red stones. The light from them was so intense than Pidge powered down her bayard and they were able to move forwards easily.

Distracted by the beauty of the red pulsing and the glistening of the gems – for that was what they seemed to be – the pair stared, wide-eyed. They had entered a cavern that seemed to rise upwards hundreds of feet, walls shimmering with the glowing red rocks like rubies in a treasure chest. It was beautiful and Pidge found that her mouth had opened in awe.

"Pretty," was all she managed.

"Very," Hunk agreed.

"Let's collect some and take them back to the others."

Without hesitation, Pidge jogged forwards and placed her hands around a stone. They were larger than she'd first thought, it took both of her hands to wrap around it, and it was wedged firmly in the wall. She pulled at it harder, using her foot against the wall as leverage until finally it popped out of the wall. Triumphant, Pidge turned to show Hunk and he plucked one of his own.

Pidge moved to grab another, the red light illuminating her helmet as she did so, and started to tug on it with all her might. It started to shimmy out of the hole and that's when Hunk saw a small round stone rolling from one side of the cave to another in a track carved into the rock's surface. He watched, mesmerised, as it came to a stop against another rock which gave way to release a dark liquid that gushed down onto a small water wheel at the other side of the cavern. The wheel turned, as did more beneath it and a low rumbling sounded throughout the space. Hunk turned quickly to see Pidge finally release the stone she was pulling on and immediately knew what was happening. He'd read about ancient civilisations setting traps to protect their treasures in tombs and the like but he'd never seen one in reality, only in films and on TV. Now, however, as Pidge turned to grin in his direction, Hunk saw the dart rise into the empty hole and aim towards his friend. Without thinking, the yellow paladin dove forwards, knocking Pidge aside and winced as something sharp pierced his neck, just between his helmet and armour.

" _HUNK!"_ Pidge yelped as the big man collapsed to his knees, "What's wrong? What happened?!"

He raised his head weakly to look at her, the effect of whatever was on the wooden dart already taking hold and making his vision blurred.

"Just like… Indiana Jones..." he mumbled as he collapsed face first onto the ground.

* * *

Outside the caves, Shiro took off his helmet and made himself comfortable on a fallen log and stretched his limbs outwards. He'd searched his cave as thoroughly as he could, well _almost_ – the darkness had started to freak him out a little so he'd made the search more of a quick glance towards the end. Now he sat and waited for the other paladins as the bright purple sun began to set.

Just a few minutes later, Keith and Lance emerged from the first cave. Somehow they'd both ended up covered in mud and Keith looked ready to murder the blue paladin as Lance removed his helmet.

"Whew!" Lance plonked his backside on the log next to Shiro, "Those caves are _dark_!"

"And muddy," Keith added as he plucked some dried mud from his hair.

"Any luck with the stones?" Shiro asked, already noticing the empty hands of the boys.

Lance shook his head, "Nope. Nada."

"Me either," Shiro squinted towards the centre cave but couldn't make anything out beyond the mouth, "Hopefully Pidge and Hunk will have had some luck."

* * *

Under the red glow of the stones embedded in the walls, Pidge desperately pulled on Hunk's arm. She'd managed to get him to the edge of the cavern but it had taken all of her strength and her arms and legs were shaking from the effort. She could just make out the mouth of the cave, a tiny dot of violet light in the distance, but it seemed miles away, far too far for her to continue dragging poor Hunk. She _could_ go and fetch the others but the thought of leaving her barely conscious friend alone in the dark with god-knows-what made Pidge dismiss that idea immediately.

Ever the puzzle solver, the green paladin exposed her bayard and wrapped the strong wire around Hunk's legs, pinning them together. Then, like a trained archer, she aimed the grappling hook towards the ever fading light and pushed the button.

* * *

Outside on the log, the other three members of Voltron felt the sudden jolt of Pidge's bayard hitting the wood they were sitting on. Lance squealed and jumped to his feet. It had stabbed into the space between his legs, narrowly missing his crotch, and his life had seemingly flashed before his eyes. Before any of them could even decipher what the hook was, the wire attached to it began to retract and suddenly Hunk's huge frame came barrelling out of the mouth of the cave like a giant fish on a reel. Shiro and Keith dived off the log into the dirt but Lance was too busy checking his nether regions and ended up being ploughed into by the yellow paladin.

"What the-"

Pidge's arrival in the clearing cut off Shiro's question. She smiled, happy that her plan had worked, and walked on wobbly legs to where Lance had just slithered out from underneath Hunk. With her hand on Hunk's cheek, Pidge looked up at Shiro.

"Something hit him. A dart," she handed him the small wooden stick that had pierced Hunk's neck, "I think it's poisoned."

Shiro took it with his Galra hand to ensure that it wouldn't prick his skin and examined it carefully. It was a plain, smooth piece of wood with a hollow centre and a green ooze dripped from one end of it. The poison, obviously. He sniffed it and gagged; it smelt like burnt hair and rotten fruit.

"Let's get him back to the pod, there's an antidote in the first aid box."

"You think it'll cure this?" Keith asked, gesturing at Hunk's unconscious body.

"Allura said it can cure any poison," Shiro said, shrugging his shoulders.

"Um..." Lance scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, "Not to be a Debbie Downer, but how exactly are we going to get him back to the pod?"

The thought hadn't occurred to the black paladin but now that he looked at Hunk's large frame he realised even he wouldn't be able to carry him the whole way back. It was at least five miles through uneven forests and grasslands.

"How far does your bayard reach, Pidge?" Lance asked, completely serious.

"Lance!" She dragged a hand down her face, "We are _not_ sending Hunk flying through the forests!"

"You sent him flying through the cave!"

"That was different! It was only a small distance and I knew what was at the other end!" She folded her arms and turned away from Lance, his idiocy too much to handle for the moment.

The blue paladin, however, didn't mean to be so outrageous. He was just trying to think of some way to get his best friend back to safety. He and Hunk had been friends for years and it physically pained him to see the big guy totally helpless.

"So we bring the pod to him," Keith suggested.

Shiro shook his head, "We can't. The electromagnetic fields on this planet are too unstable, that's why we didn't fly it all the way here in the first place."

"We'll have to carry him then!" Lance snapped, already sick of trying to think of a sensible plan. He just wanted Hunk _safe_ and _healthy_.

"We _can't_ carry him, that's the whole point!" Keith retorted.

"Fine! I'll do it myself!"

And with that, Lance hooked his arm under Hunk's shoulders and dragged him upright. The unconscious lad's legs dragged heavily in the dirt as Lance struggled forwards, stumbling and almost falling. Not to be beaten, he set his jaw and marched towards the long grass from which they had entered, sweat already dripping down his temples. He'd only taken a few steps into the grass when the weight of Hunk's limp body suddenly halved and he looked across to see Shiro under Hunk's right arm, holding him up. They continued onwards, Pidge and Keith following and checking for any lifeforms that may come their way, until Lance's knees gave way and he had to stop.

"Just give me… a minute," he gasped as Shiro propped Hunk up against a tree.

"I'll take over for a while," Keith said as he looped Hunk's left arm over his shoulders.

"Wait a minute," Shiro breathed deeply, trying to slow his pounding heart, "Let me take that side, this arm's stronger," he flexed his Galra arm and swapped places with Keith.

As they stood Hunk back up, he groaned and his eyes fluttered open slightly. Pidge jumped in front of him and grasped his face between her hands, squishing it.

"Hunk? How are you feeling?" her lips moved quickly as she tried to check for any signs of trauma or the poison getting worse, "Thank you for saving me!"

"S'ok," he mumbled, "Everything's… brighter..." he squinted as though looking into a bright light but the surrounding area was dark and getting darker as the sun slipped further down in the sky.

"Don't go to the light!" Lance flailed his arms in front of Hunk's face, "Stay with us, buddy!"

"He just means it's brighter than the cave, idiot!" Pidge whacked Lance's arm away and he rubbed it gently.

"We're taking you back to the pod to get the antidote," Shiro said calmly.

"But it's getting dark..." Hunk seemed suddenly more aware as he looked around.

Shiro shook his head, "It doesn't matter, we'll keep going."

"But the princess… She said… About wild animals… Nocturnal..." the yellow paladin passed out and once again became a dead weight in Keith and Shiro's arms.

"Anyone else having flashbacks to Allura's speech about the animals on this planet?" Pidge asked, eyes wide, "She said they come out at night and we should leave _before_ they emerge."

As if on cue, the last of the sunlight dipped below the horizon and a guttural howl rumbled through the tall grass. A few seconds later a second howl echoed the first, then a third and fourth until the paladins felt completely surrounded by whatever wild beats came out at night. Whatever they were they sounded _big_ and Shiro wasn't about to hang around to find out if his mental image of them was correct. He hoisted Hunk further upright, forcing Keith to do the same, and started forward once again through the grass. Lance led the way, his pistol aimed and ready, and Pidge brought up the rear.

They'd managed to get into the forest, only a mile or so left to walk to the pod, when a dark shadow darted across Lance's path. He stopped dead, gun raised, and the other paladins paused, waiting.

"What do you see?" Shiro whispered, anxious that something might hear his voice and jump out of the darkness.

Lance stayed silent as he swept the area, bayard ready to fire if anything should surprise him. A branch crunched to his right and he swung round, gun raised. He peered into the shadows and reacted instantly when a huge purple beast emerged from them. It was like a huge leopard and twice as big; blue markings littered its purple flesh and Lance noticed that the blue glowed slightly, making it look even more dangerous, even poisonous. Silently, it leered forwards, circling Lance as he followed its movement with his gun. Then, like a loaded spring, it leapt forwards with its mouth gaping showing huge black teeth inside. Lance shot twice without blinking and the creature flopped to the ground, not dead but certainly not able to get up anytime soon.

The blue paladin felt a soft hand on his shoulder and realised he'd frozen after he'd shot at the big cat, only now relaxing as Shiro patted his arm gently.

"Good job, Sharp Shooter," Shiro ruffled Lance's hair and grinned.

"There'll be more," Keith added as he tried to hold Hunk upright by himself, "We should keep moving."

Now totally thawed out, Lance turned to look at the red paladin, a sly smirk on his face, "You know, you can call me Sharp Shooter too if you like."

"I'll call you _something_ all right," Keith mumbled as Shiro grabbed Hunk's other arm once more.

They continued on through the darkness, stopping now and then to adjust Hunk's position or when they heard an unknown something in the shadows, until eventually Pidge spotted the pod. She took the lead through the last of the long grass and Lance could just make out the top of her helmet a few metres ahead of him when something once again caught his eye. Another purple leopard. It skulked through the dry grass, stalking its prey – which was apparently Pidge – making the grass sway with its movement.

"Pidge!"

Lance stage-whispered but was too far away for her to hear. He didn't want to shout and startle the beast in case it suddenly charged for her but he didn't want it to _eat_ the tiny paladin either. He turned to Shiro for help and was grateful to see that the leader had already laid Hunk down on the ground and was moving forwards through the grass, his Galra arm glowing faintly. Keith moved on the opposite side of Lance, ahead of him, and turned to whisper back at him.

"Stay with Hunk," he looked lost in thought for a moment and then added, "And shoot the big cat if it gets too close!"

The blue paladin watched as Shiro and Keith stalked the cat, moving as it did through the grass. They were almost close enough to grab it or stab it or whatever it was they were going to do to it when Pidge suddenly turned around. She opened her mouth to say something but the words stuck in her throat as she stared up into the dark eyes of the huge leopard. Lance watched as it loomed over her, completely blocking her from his view, and then all hell broke loose. Pidge spun back around and started to sprint towards the pod, only a few metres from her now. Keith swung his bayard at the cat but it dodged it easily and Shiro raced after Pidge and the beast as it chased her towards the pod. Lance aimed at the creature but it was moving too fast and too erratically to get a clean shot and he didn't want to leave Hunk alone and defenceless in the grass.

"Aaaaaahhhhhh!"

Pidge didn't even realise she was yelling as she clambered up onto the surface of the pod and desperately tried to find the panel to open the door. The cat-thing was right behind her and she felt a whoosh of air beside her leg as it swiped its paw at her, missing only by inches.

"Go away!" she knew it was useless but she couldn't think of anything else to say as it continued to scramble towards her, slipping on the smooth surface of the pod.

"Pidge hang on!"

Shiro moved like an athlete, winding and running through the grass with ease until he reached the pod only seconds after the green paladin. Once he was there, however, he wasn't quite sure what the plan was. The leopard was _huge_ , far too big to just slap with his Galra arm and probably too muscular to be intimidated by Keith's blade. It snapped it's large jaws at Shiro and he jumped up onto the pod with Pidge, as did Keith once he'd assessed the situation. They were stranded on the escape pod, the panel for the door mechanism was right where the beast was standing and not one of them thought it a good idea to reach down and press it with those big black teeth in the way.

The surface of the pod was slippery and Pidge lost her footing. Her left leg slipped dangerously close to the cat's open mouth and it snapped at her angrily. Then, all of a sudden, a blast of bright blue-white light illuminated the pod and surrounding area. The beam hit the cat with enough force to knock it sideways and it yelped, obviously injured. Stubbornly, it turned back to the three paladins on the pod and opened its mouth only to be blasted with another hit, this time in the face. It reared backwards and slinked into the shadows of the forest, tail between its legs.

"What the heck?" Pidge asked, mouth agape.

From a few metres away, in the long grass, Lance waved happily towards them. He wasn't alone, however. Beside him, Hunk stood a little wobbly with his bayard-gun leaning against his shoulder and a wide grin on his face.

"Look!" Lance shouted, arms waving in Hunk's direction, "Hunk's awake!"

"I think the poison was only temporary!" Hunk yelled.

"Oh… Great!" Shiro replied, bewildered.

Keith turned to Shiro, eyebrows knitted over his dark eyes, "He couldn't have woken up _before_ we carried him through miles of the forests of death?!"


	6. Beneath the Surface

((Thank you SO MUCH to everyone who has reviewed etc. so far! I'm really enjoying writing these short stories and will continue for as long as I can! Remember to keep suggesting stories too!))

* * *

 **Chapter Six: Beneath the Surface**

"Wow, that was _awesome_!"

"We were like _BLAM! WHAM!"_

"We certainly showed those Galra who's boss!"

"You can say that again!"

The five lions swooped back into the castle and landed with dull _thumps_ on the metal floor before walking slowly to their hangars. It always amazed Pidge just how much the metal beasts acted like their Earthen counterparts when they weren't in battle, lazing around like big cats. Each had an individual personality, too. The black lion was more of a strong, silent type and could even be described as 'snooty' with anyone but Shiro. Blue was energetic, always ready to swoop and soar through space, whereas Yellow was more laid back. Red was the most protective of their paladin, constantly on alert to check where Keith was. Then there was the green lion; Pidge did indeed have a bond with her lion, just as the others did, but she felt that bond wasn't as strong as it could be. Sure, she heard her lion's voice – well, more of a deep purring _feeling_ – when they were in battle but somehow she knew there was more to unlock.

For almost five hours the paladins had been in battle with a small fleet of Galra ships. They had fought them off valiantly and even formed Voltron when necessary until eventually they had defeated the aliens and sent them packing. Of course it had been a strain on everyone, forming Voltron alone was enough to drain their energy, but Pidge felt as though the utter lack of energy she now felt was on a larger scale than the boys. On the way back to the castle they had been bickering and joking and she could barely keep her eyes open, limbs sore and brain overworked.

"Who's hungry?" Hunk asked as the five paladins walked through the silver hallway towards the food hall.

Lance stretched and rubbed his stomach, "Ooh! I'll have some of that world famous food goo if you're offering!"

"Me too, I'm starved," Keith popped off his helmet and scratched his head, messing up his mullet.

Shiro rolled his right shoulder and something crunched under his skin, "I think I'll do some quick training first."

"What about you, Pidge?" Lance asked as he, Hunk and Keith entered the dining area.

No response.

"Pidge?"

She blinked up at him, confused as to where she was for a moment, and then nodded, "Food. Yes. Good."

She suppressed a yawn and followed the boys into the room before plonking herself down at the table. The voices of the three other paladins filled the room and lulled her into a sense of safety, already their familiar tones sounded like family, like home. Hunk slid a plate under Pidge's nose but she pushed it away inconspicuously, too exhausted to think about eating.

"So, what're we going to do now?" Lance asked as he shovelled the last of his goo into his mouth, "I'm way too pumped to just sit around."

"Same here," Hunk said, spork raised, "I feel like I could punch a mountain or something."

"Why would you punch a mountain?" Keith asked, a serious expression on his face.

"Shut up, Mullet," Keith opened his mouth to retort but Lance had already turned his attention to Pidge, who sat upright when he said her name, "Pidge, you're hyped too right? What do you think we should do?"

"Sure, um..." she blinked rapidly in an attempt to keep her eyes from drooping shut, "What about the pool?"

Why she mentioned the pool she had no idea. Maybe it was because she was thinking about floating silently and calmly through sleep and her brain had associated it with water. Much to her regret, Lance's face lit up at the idea and the four made plans to head to the pool after getting changed out of their armour.

* * *

In her room, Pidge changed into her swimsuit – provided kindly by Allura – like she was on autopilot. Her arms and legs didn't feel attached to her body but at the same time her muscles were sore and aching. Her mind felt fuzzy, like her head was full of cotton wool and she almost tripped on her towel coming out of the bathroom because she was so out of it.

Somehow Pidge made it to the elevator where the others were waiting, along with Shiro, with big smiles on their faces and anticipation in their eyes. They hadn't successfully used the Altaen pool yet and Lance was excited to find out how it actually worked. When the doors pinged the five paladins stepped inside the small metal box and waited patiently as it rose through the castle-ship. Lance started to tell them of the time he and Keith had shimmied up the elevator shaft but the red paladin soon put and end to _that_ particular tale with a slap to the back of Lance's head.

"Almost there," Shiro said as he watched the blinking lights rise higher on the door panel.

The boys were all in swimming trunks with their towels around their shoulders and for the first time since joining the team, Pidge felt her cheeks flush a little in the confined space. The distinct aroma of _boy_ filled the elevator, reminding her of Matt and she paled a little at the memory. She was soon thrust back to the present, however, as the doors slid open and they stepped into the pool room.

"Still weird," Lance remarked as he looked up at the water on the ceiling.

It was indeed strange. The Altaen swimming pool was located on the ceiling; somehow the water stayed in the rectangular shape and not a drop spilled onto the floor below.

"How do we even get up there?" Hunk asked, tugging on his yellow trunks.

"I'm just guessing but maybe this has something to do with it?"

Keith was pointing at a large red button on the wall. There were no instructions or guidelines beside it but it didn't look _too_ dangerous. As Shiro opened his mouth to list the number of things that could go wrong from just pressing a random button on an alien ship, Keith slammed his hand against it without a second thought.

Nothing happened.

Lance patted Keith's back, "Well done, you failed spectacularly."

"Oh, really?"

The red paladin raised a dark eyebrow and pointed towards the smallest of the group, who had suddenly lifted off the floor. Pidge floated for a moment, utterly baffled, and then began to flip upside down, her toes wiggling up at the ceiling.

"Um… A little help?"

She stretched her arms to reach for Lance's but they were out of reach, as were Hunk's. It was Shiro who managed to get on his tiptoes and grab the green paladin's wrist like she was his own personal balloon. It didn't matter, however, as the distorted gravity soon made itself known to the rest of the team and they all began to flip and turn as they floated towards the pool on the ceiling.

"That button must have reversed the gravity!" Pidge exclaimed, suddenly feeling a little more awake now that there was something to decipher.

After about thirty seconds, the humans made contact with the tepid water of the Altaen pool. Pidge entered it first, followed by Shiro who was still grasping her arm tightly, which he released once they were all in the water and he was sure they wouldn't just flop back to the floor like dead fish. Apart from the fact that they were upside down, the pool felt like any on Earth; the water was pleasant and Pidge felt herself relax a little as she floated on her back, letting the ripples decide her path. The tranquillity didn't last long with three adolescent boys in the water, however, and soon they were splashing and ducking about like maniacs.

Hunk dived onto Lance's shoulders and pushed him underneath as the Cuban gasped and spluttered and Keith dipped beneath the surface to pull on Lance's legs. Shiro yanked Lance back to the surface only to be pulled under himself by the red paladin. They splashed and dived about, laughing loudly like they hadn't cares in the world as Pidge tried her best to stay above the water. After the initial fascination with the gravity, she had once again been reminded by her body that she was indeed exhausted beyond description and as she had moved to the edge of the water to find some steps or a handrail to cling onto she had come to the realisation that there weren't any. There were no steps, no means of climbing out, even the walls of the pool had somehow slid back into the ceiling, leaving only the water itself in the shape of the pool. It was isolated in the centre of the ceiling with no means of escape. And that was exactly what Pidge felt she needed to do: _escape_.

She began to panic, a stupid thing to resort to when in an emergency situation, she knew, but something she couldn't control. Her heartrate increased as she kicked her legs harder to try and stay afloat and she attempted to find somewhere to plant her feet only to realise that the water was the same depth in the entirety of the pool, more than twice her height. Seeing only water and no way to get out, a sudden terror filled Pidge's world and she slipped beneath the surface, arms flailing wildly to try and pull herself back up. It was no use. She was too tired to kick her legs fully and she watched helplessly as the surface moved further and further away from her reach.

The next thing the green paladin knew she was floating atop the water with Shiro's hands looped beneath her armpits, keeping her afloat. She coughed and gagged when some water escaped her throat and squinted at her friends surrounding her.

"You okay?" Keith asked, concern in his dark eyes.

"Yeah-" she coughed again, "I couldn't reach the bottom and-" she stopped when she saw the look in Hunk's eyes, "What?"

"None of us can," Lance disappeared under the water for a moment and re-emerged a few seconds later, "It's too deep."

Pidge looked up at Shiro, who was still holding her weight, "Can we get out?"

He shook his head, "We tried but the gravity that's making us stay on the ceiling is also keeping us in the pool."

"We're gonna drown… In _space_ ," Lance slapped the water, making it splash.

"We need to contact the princess somehow," Keith swam towards the edge of the water.

It looked like the pool was encased in a glass frame but when Keith moved his hand to touch it, his fingers reached open air. That was all that he could manage, however, as the invisible force pushed him away from the edge with enough strength to wind him slightly. Defeated, he swam back to the rest of the group in the centre of the pool.

"So what do we do now?" Hunk asked, his legs furiously working to keep himself afloat.

"Yeah, I don't know how long I can keep swimming," Lance moved closer to Hunk and held onto his arm in an attempt to float a little better.

"Maybe we should just jump?" Keith asked, "If we can get out of the water maybe the gravity won't be as strong and we'll drop to the floor."

He ducked beneath the water and jumped up – or down, depending on your viewpoint – emerging from the water like some sort of merman. He managed to get his body more than halfway out but the gravity was just too strong. With an enormous splash, the red paladin connected with the water again. He tried once more but it was no use and just seemed to tire him out more than anything.

"What if we got on each other's shoulders?" Lance suggested, panting a little from the exertion of kicking his legs continuously.

They tried just that. Hunk made the base of the stack, furiously kicking his legs and waving his arms in the water to stay afloat as Shiro climbed onto his broad shoulders. Next was Keith on the black paladin's shoulders – Shiro winced as Keith's foot brushed his right shoulder but held him steady nonetheless. Lance climbed the human totem pole until he could perch atop Keith's bony frame and finally Pidge started to make her way to the top. They wobbled and wavered a little as she climbed and Keith tried not to fall backwards as Pidge's foot connected with his face but finally she made it onto Lance's shoulders. Tilting her head backwards, she looked down at the floor. It looked so far away and Pidge wondered just what would happen if this plan _did_ work and she ended up hurtling towards the ground with speed. She shook away the thought and slapped her cheeks to refocus herself before leaping away from Lance towards the ground.

For a brief moment Pidge felt herself free-falling through the air. Her stomach lurched and her hair flicked around her face wildly as gravity seemed to shift around her. Then, like an invisible lasso had been tied around her waist, the green paladin tumbled back up into the pool, landing with an almighty splash in the middle of her friends. Lance fished her out and held her hands to keep her afloat as she coughed and spluttered.

"Well, that didn't work," Hunk panted, already feeling his muscles beginning to seize up.

"We need to relax," Shiro closed his eyes and tried to ignore the grinding sensation in his shoulder as he moved to float on his back, "Panicking will just make it worse. We can float about and reserve energy until Allura or Coran figure out where we are."

"Okay, okay, you're right," Lance flipped onto his back and floated along the surface of the water, "This is actually pretty nice."

The others joined in but Pidge found that she wasn't able to completely relax her body and kept flailing now and then, her tired limbs desperately searching for something to keep her afloat. Once again she felt as though the boys were just _better_ at coping with situations like this than she was. She was scared and tired and _lonely_ and somehow they just didn't seem to feel the same way. It worried her and made her feel a little inadequate but most of all it _annoyed_ the young paladin and there, floating in the upside down pool of no return, it seemed like as good a place as any to take out her frustration.

"UGH!"

Four pairs of eyes turned to look at Pidge as she slapped the water angrily.

"How can you all be so _calm_?!" she rubbed aggressively at her tired, sore eyes, "Why aren't you freaking out or showing some sort of emotion? Aren't you scared? Aren't you _tired_?!"

"So tired."

"Exhausted."

"I'm pretty sure I already died and now I'm just a corpse floating about."

"Pidge," Shiro swam over to her and put his arm around her waist gently so as to pull her closer, "We're all exhausted and scared. We just don't show it."

"Yeah," Lance grasped his elbows and shuddered, "Imagine seeing Shiro freaking out, I'd have nightmares for weeks."

"Or Keith acting all scared," Hunk added, "That'd be so weird."

"Hey! I get scared!" Keith pouted a little, making Pidge smile.

"But you weren't tired after the mission," Pidge whispered as she clung onto Shiro's arm a little more to keep her head above the water.

"I was!" Lance raised his arm and immediately regretted it as his head dipped under the water.

"Me too," Keith admitted quietly.

"We all were," Shiro smiled down at Pidge warmly, "Maybe we should actually _say_ what we're feeling instead of trying to be all macho about it, huh?"

The green paladin nodded and a huge yawn contorted her features. They were all feeling it; their muscles throbbed and burned and it was becoming more and more difficult just to stay afloat. A couple of times Hunk had to yank Lance's half asleep body to the surface and eventually they all decided to hold onto one another just to make sure no one drowned. Just as they were starting to panic and shiver from being in the water for so long, a familiar redhead Altaen face appeared beneath them on the ground. Coran looked up at the pool and the five paladins and cocked an eyebrow.

"What in the blazes are you doing up there?!"

"Drowning!" Lance yelped.

Coran put his hands on his hips, "Why the quiznak are you using it upside down?!"

The paladins just stared at the Altaen blankly as Coran twisted the red button that Keith had pushed earlier. As he turned it, the entire room began to turn too, gravity shifting so that Coran's feet were constantly glued to a surface. He walked slowly along the floor, then the wall and finally the ceiling as the room was completely flipped upside down and the pool was located on the floor like any ordinary swimming pool. The five paladins climbed out one by one, shivering as they did so. Pidge had somehow ended up sitting on Shiro's shoulders but he didn't shake her off, instead letting her hold on tightly as he climbed out.

"Thanks, Coran," Hunk grabbed his towel and started drying himself off vigorously.

"So we were using it wrong, huh?" Keith asked no one in particular.

Team Voltron gathered their towels and slumped back to their rooms, more than ready for the warm, dark comfort of their beds.

Coran just stared after them, totally baffled.

"Humans," he sighed.


	7. Old Wounds

((Hi! Long time no see! I've finally (almost) caught up with Voltron so I thought I'd do a little more torture -ahem – I mean _writing_ on here! This chapter is set somewhere at the beginning of season 7 where the lions are just floating through space! Spoilers if you're not caught up!))

 **Chapter Seven: Old Wounds**

"Wow. I don't think I've ever been this bored in my life… No, wait, yesterday I was this bored."

Lance stretched his long legs onto the console of the red lion and yawned dramatically. The group had been floating _slowly_ through space for almost two weeks since the castle of lions had been sacrificed in order to save the universe from exploding or something (Lance wasn't sure about the details) and the monotonous repetition was starting to get to them.

"I spy with my li-"

"NO!" Pidge cut Hunk's voice off before he could reveal what exactly it was he 'spied', "No more 'I spy', _please_!"

Hunk huffed, a crackle of static through the comms, "Well then, _you_ think of something to pass the time, braniac."

"Ughh…" beside Lance, Romelle sat crossed legged on the floor of the red lion, resting her chin in her hands. Although a new edition to the team, the Altaen had managed to fit in with the group pretty quickly and felt pretty much at ease with everyone already.

"Wait, what's that?" She pointed out of the viewing window towards a soft pinkish glow in the distance.

"A planet?" Lance asked, one eyebrow raised.

"Looks like it," Keith agreed as he pushed the black lion a little faster towards the object, anything to break the continuous routine they'd been living through.

By his side, Shiro stumbled a little as Black sped up and reached out a non-existent right arm to steady himself, not yet used to the vacant space by his side. When nothing connected with the side of the lion, he realised all too late and body slammed into the cold metal instead. Keith heard the _bang_ and turned to see his best friend sprawled on the floor, a look of annoyance on the older man's scarred face.

"Shiro!" Keith gaped, "Are you okay?" Ever since the black paladin had reawakened in his clone body, Keith had been extra observant of his friend. He hated himself for not realising sooner that it hadn't been the _real_ Shiro and needed to make sure nothing like that ever happened again, even if it _did_ mean babysitting him a little.

Shiro rubbed his neck and Keith noticed his shoulder roll a little as he got back to his feet.

"I'm fine, just a little… clumsy."

'Clumsy' was definitely not a word anyone would have used to describe Shiro at his peek condition and it angered and, if he was being honest with himself, _scared_ him a little that he felt that way. He hadn't felt like that since being on Earth, when the disease in his muscles had caused him to be a little awkward now and then. The memories of that time stung Shiro and he tried to concentrate on something, _anything_ else to tear his mind away from them.

"So it is a planet, huh?"

Now closer to the pink glow, the lions had a better view of the small planet. It seemed to throb with a pink energy, almost like a rhythm, a heartbeat, and Pidge could have sworn she could almost _hear_ the pulsation as they entered its atmosphere.

"Whoa," Lance gawked at the surrounding area as the lions landed with soft _thumps_ on the surface of the planet, huge clouds of pink dust rising into the air as they did so.

The ground was mainly dirt and dust, like a vast pink desert, but there were a couple of gigantic trees dotted around. The trees were so tall and broad that their blue leaves reached through the clouds, the very top impossible to see from the ground. It was as though the trees were so huge that they needed all of the moisture the planet's surface had to offer, hence the cracked, desert-like pink dirt that stretched for miles.

"Atmosphere is breathable," Pidge exclaimed as the group exited the lions and removed their helmets, thankful for some non-recycled air.

"We should let the lions recharge here for a while," Allura patted Blue's jaw and sat down next to Krolia on a fallen tree.

"I'll go and see if I can find anything useful!" Coran declared with a smile, "Maybe there're some secrets hidden in this desolate landscape!"

"I'll come too!" Romelle skipped to his side, followed by the blue wolf and the trio marched off with purpose.

"I suppose someone should go with them and make sure they don't run into trouble," Krolia spoke mostly to herself and got up from the fallen tree unenthusiastically before jogging to catch up with Coran's group.

* * *

After building a small fire, the remainder of the group pulled some logs closer to it and gathered around the warmth. They'd taken off their armour as Allura had decided it definitely needed washing after having been worn for weeks and it felt comfortable just chilling out by the fire without worrying about anything in particular. Hunk handed out some smoked fish-like food and they munched silently for a while, simply enjoying one another's company. It was going to be a long journey back to Earth and there was no reason why they couldn't enjoy a little respite now and then, especially as there was usually something sharp and pointy trying to kill them most of the time.

"Do you not like the fish-stuff, Shiro?" Hunk asked as he took another huge bite of his own.

The black paladin hadn't taken even a nibble of the food and was simply sitting staring into the fire, dark eyes almost alight with the flames' reflection. He hadn't even seemed to have heard Hunk's question and continued to stare blankly, a soft pinch between his newly pale eyebrows.

"Err… Shiro?"

Lance, who was sitting on Shiro's right side, waved his hand in front of the taller man's face and Shiro's transfixed gaze was broken. He blinked for a few seconds, as though trying to remember where he was, and then turned to Lance. He'd tried to paint a nonchalant look on his face but instead looked somewhat lost. It didn't go unnoticed by Keith.

"Shiro? You okay?"

"Yeah," Lance smiled but it didn't reach his eyes, "You looked kinda out of it there!"

"I..." Shiro was going to make something up about just being tired but knew his friends would know better. He sighed and looked at his one remaining hand in his lap, "It's just taking some getting used to, you know? Being _back_."

He felt Keith's hand on his back and turned to look at the red paladin.

"We know, it's alright." Keith smiled warmly and Shiro returned it, ever thankful for his close bonds with the others.

"There's no need to rush into things, Shiro," Allura added, her soothing tones echoing around the circle as the sky darkened.

"Yeah, it's not like we're in a hurry right now anyway," Pidge finished her fish-thing and smiled broadly before wiping crumbs from her face, "Take as long as you need."

"It's not every day you come back from the dead, get put into your evil clone's body - which is missing an arm - and fly through space after a huge explosion," Lance had meant well but it came out in a jumble and earned him a slap on the back of the head from Keith.

Shiro chuckled nonetheless and ruffled Lance's hair, finally feeling somewhat 'normal' for the first time since returning from the astral plain.

* * *

It was warm enough on the strange planet to sleep outside and so the group decided to gather round the dwindling fire and sleep together. It didn't get completely dark, a faint pink glow still illuminated the sky somewhat, and so Keith could see when Shiro began to toss and turn in his sleep. The black paladin was lying between a snoring Hunk and Pidge, who was curled up into a ball like a cat, and his long legs were pulled up against his chest. Keith had always been a light sleeper and the squirming of his oldest friend had stirred him easily. He watched as the white-haired man frowned deeply and muttered something unintelligible as he rolled onto his left side. Then all hell broke loose.

Shiro began to flail wildly like something was attacking him in his sleep; his human arm grabbed at the air, missing Pidge by mere inches, and he began to kick violently before sitting upright. His eyes shot open and Keith could see that they were glazed over, like they had been when they were gathered around the fire earlier. A panicked yell from the black paladin opened some more eyes around the camp, although Coran and Hunk continued to snore, oblivious to the ongoing drama.

"Nnn… What the heck is hap-"

Before Pidge could get her bearings, Shiro was on his feet with his arm around her throat. She dangled from his grip, legs flailing and hands clawing at his much stronger one in an attempt to loosen his hold on her neck.

"Pidge!"

Lance was on his feet even before Keith had reacted and managed to peel Shiro's hands from the smallest paladin, who dropped to the ground like a discarded toy. She coughed loudly but seemed okay, just bruised.

"What the hell, Shiro?!" Lance shouted as Keith moved forwards, cautious of the Shiro in front of him.

Although Keith knew the Shiro with them now was indeed the _real_ Shiro, he also remembered his fight with the clone and how much he'd thought he was going to die battling him. The scar on his cheek still throbbed now and then and when he closed his eyes he could still see his best friend's face scowling down at him, trying to kill him. Now was not the time to be hesitant, however, and Keith stepped in front of Shiro, blocking his view of Pidge and Lance.

"Shiro! Stop!"

"I- It's not me! Don't listen to him, Keith!" Shiro swiped at the red paladin wildly but Keith dodged it easily and Shiro grasped at his own face, clawing into his white hair desperately, "I'm here! I- I'm all… alone..."

The words hurt Keith more than a blow from a fist and he flinched away from them, scared of hearing what torture Shiro had been going through for so long.

" _Please_!" Shiro seemed calmer but tears streamed down his pale cheeks as his voice cracked, "I don't want to be dead. I want to go home… Adam..."

Sensing he was a lot calmer, Keith moved closer to Shiro and placed both hands on the taller man's cheeks. Shiro froze for a moment and then seemed to melt into Keith's touch, finally his eyes seemed to focus on where he was.

"Keith?" he whispered, tears still trickling from his eyes.

"It's me, Shiro. You're safe now. We're all here."

"Keith..." he repeated the word like he was savouring it. He hadn't spoken it for so long it sounded almost foreign to him, "I'm sorry..." Shiro touched the scar on Keith's face and finally his knees gave in. He slumped to the ground, Keith keeping him upright.

"You didn't do this," Keith pressed Shiro's hand firmer against his scarred cheek, "You didn't do _anything_. You're back now. Where you belong."

A choked cough from Pidge broke the glass bubble the pair were in and Shiro's eyes bulged. He scrambled over to the green paladin and scooped her up in a one-armed hug, squeezing the breath from her.

"I'm so sorry, Pidge! I wasn't myself… I didn't know where I was, I-"

Pidge's hair tickled his face as she shook her head aggressively, "It's okay, don't worry. We understand, Shiro. We love you!" Her last comment even took Pidge by surprise and she blushed slightly as Shiro put her back on her feet.

"It's soppy but it's true," Lance scratched at his jaw absently so as not to meet Shiro's thankful gaze.

"Well, I love you guys too," Shiro mumbled as Hunk suddenly sat upright like someone had poured cold water over him.

"WHAT?! WHAT'S HAPPENING?!" Hunk bellowed as he jumped to his feet. He looked around for a moment and then sighed, placing a hand on his broad chest, "Oh, thank heavens, I thought I was drowning in a giant trifle!"

"And with that, we should all get back to sleep," Krolia smirked.

The group lay back down, a little closer to one another than before, and before drifting off to sleep, Pidge nudged Lance and whispered,

"Who's Adam?"

Lance shrugged, "No idea."


End file.
